The Continuing Tales
by random.corruption
Summary: Not the most exciting title, sorry. This takes place after the break up of our three favorite miscreants. Our friends are traveling in separate directions, but like Mugen said a while back: fate just keeps throwing them back together. Future pairings:?R
1. Vol 1 Correspondence of Contrast

(a/n: I do not own Samurai Champloo in any way)

Vol. 1 Correspondence of Contrast

-Fuu-

As I walked along the road toward the village- Momo on my shoulder- I couldn't help but think about Jin and Mugen. I wondered what those two would be up to right now. Who knows what Jin was doing, but I'd bet anything that Mugen was at the first brothel that he could find. Things would never change with him, the pervert. I did miss them, they were the only friends I had…that was a disturbing thought.

We had been apart for a whole three months now, and despite my earlier fears, I was doing a good job taking care of myself. I sighed as I came to the first buildings of the village. My stomach grumbled loudly.

"Come on Momo, let's go see if I can find a job. I'm starving." Momo squeaked a response of approval and I started into the village.

-Jin-

"Hey, you!" a man called to me as I sat resting on a bench outside a teahouse. I slowly looked over to him, unsure of his interest in me. I was even more suspicious of people these days, ever since so many of the people we ran into were assassins from the Shogunate. I had no idea if they were still after us, despite the fact that we had dispatched their best hired sword. The sunflower samurai- Seizou Kasumi, or Fuu's father- may have been dead, but Fuu was still alive and The Hand of God (Kariya Kagetoki) had said that his orders were to dispatch her as well.

"Yes?" I asked. The man was standing in front of me, blocking the bright sun.

"Are you a trustworthy man?" he questioned. I nodded. "Good, good. Will you do me a favor?"

"I suppose it depends on the favor you intend on asking."

"I need you to take a package from the city here to a small village a few days away. Its medicine for my sick son, my wife can't leave him to come and get it, she is preparing for a big event. Please, she will have money waiting for you there to pay you for your services."

"I will do it." I stood and he handed me the package.

"You will find my wife at the house next to the teahouse there. She mends clothes. I'm sure she would be happy to oblige you with a room and a meal once you get there."

My stomach growled loudly. I was very hungry, it had been days since I had a decent meal. At least there would be something to look forward to once I got there. With a reminiscent thought about how I had traveled before with Fuu and Mugen, I began my journey alone.

-Mugen-

"Come on baby! Stop bein' such a tight-ass," I tried.

"No money, no girls!" the broad shouted before she slammed the door in my face. Damn, I really needed a girl right now. I was hungry as hell too. I had no money, not for a while now. I had just kinda been scrounging around and stealing what I needed off street punks. Too bad I wasn't with four-eyes and the bitch anymore, we always found a way to get some money back then. I sighed and started making my way out of the red-light district.

"Damn," I growled when my stomach rumbled real loud. I needed some food, now. I was walking out past the gates when some fat jerk bumped into me.

"Watch it, boy," the man said, I kept walking. "I was talking to you!"

"Maybe you're the one who should be watchin' where you're goin' with that big ass of yours," I said coolly, looking over my shoulder.

"Wha-? I should kill you right here you insolent little-"

"Whatever buddy, I got places to go. Don't want to be wasting my time on you…you're just not worth it." I started going again, and he kept on babbling behind me. Then I heard it, or sensed it, or whatever…but I knew he was coming. I ducked as his sword went over my head, and in one move I pulled my own out and turned to slice him open. I stopped with the tip of my blade to his throat. "You shouldn't have done that."

I heard the whistle and the police surrounded us pretty quick. They started shouting, but I wasn't payin' any attention. I stepped back and put my sword back in its sheath. There was no way that I was going to kill this guy in front of them…I'd be as good as dead. They'd have to catch me first though.

"Who started this fight?" one of the guys asked.

"It wasn't the young man," an old man said. "It was the other, the boy was merely defending himself."

They came up behind me and started to take the other guy away. When they were gone I started to go on my way again. The old man caught up with me though. I slid my eyes to see him standing next to me.

"Hey, you were pretty good back there. You have a great skill."

"I guess," I said with a shrug.

"Would you be interested in a job in security?" he asked.

"What? Like a body guard?" I wasn't about to do that shit again.

"Sort of, but all you have to do is keep order and make sure that no one is where they shouldn't be. It's only for one day."

I didn't really want to do it, but I needed food and money. I wasn't getting anything decent off of the jerks I was stealing from.

"How much does it pay?" I asked.

"Five ryo."

Holy crap. "I'm in. What is this thing I'm supposed to be guarding anyway?"

"You are going to protect a wedding." Wha?


	2. Vol 2 Secrets and Seamstresses

(a/n: I don't own Samurai Champloo)

Vol. 2 Secrets and Seamstresses

-Jin-

I looked around as I entered the village. It was decorated in many lanterns and strings of flowers. I wondered what was happening. The village looked quite busy; children were running about, women were bringing food between different houses and buildings, and there men were watching about suspiciously. I adjusted my glasses before continuing on. It was a larger village than what I had expected.

It was only a few minutes before I found the teahouse and the residence next door. I knocked lightly and waited for someone to answer. A moment later a woman slid the door open and pulled me inside. She started collecting pieces of clothing off of tables and hangers. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow, but I suppose you could take them over now." I tried to talk as she walked past me, but was silenced when she threw the pile at me. I caught them awkwardly. She kept running around, talking to herself. Finally, she paused. "What are you still doing here? You must get those to the magistrate's house at once!"

"I was sent by your husband," I told her as I shifted the weight in my arms and reached into my gi. I held my arm out, showing her the package he had given me. "This is medicine for your son."

"Oh!" she gasped, running over to take the clothes from me. When she set them back onto the table she came to me and took the package from my hands gently. "I am terribly sorry, I've been so busy. I'm afraid that I can hardly keep track of things these days." She pulled a small purse out of her sleeve and gave me some coins. It would be enough to support me for a few days. "You may stay here tonight if you'd like. If you help me with some chores over the next few days then I will give you more money and lodging." I nodded, it being better than spending the money I had just earned. "Perfect! Now come over here and get some food. You can meet my son."

-Fuu-

I had gotten a job at the local teahouse. The old lady who owned it felt sorry for me, I think. Oh well though, a job is a job. Right now it was busy, and I was going quickly between tables. The other girl who worked here told me that people were in town for a wedding, so that explained the crowding. When I asked questions about it though, they would just change the subject. Weird right?

"Hey girl! I'm still waiting for my dumplings!" a man yelled at me.

"Coming sir!" I called as I went into the hot kitchen to get his order. "Jeeze, these guys don't know what the word patient means, do they?"

"Everyone is on edge these days," the cook told me.

"Is it about the big wedding? Why is everyone so anxious about it?" I questioned curiously.

He looked around nervously. Then he grabbed a bowl off the shelf and started spooning stuff into it. "You cannot say anything about this. Outsiders aren't really supposed to know…"

"What is it?" I whispered.

"The magistrate, whose wife died only a few months ago, has chosen to remarry."

"So? Men remarry all of the time."

"Yes, but magistrate Kobayashi doesn't have another bride yet. He is going to pick from the women of the village. Any single woman who belongs to the village is eligible."

"What?" I gasped. How could he do that? Why would the villagers allow him to do this? "Why don't you say no?"

"Because if we don't, he will destroy the village." The man's shoulders slumped. "So we have to sacrifice one of our daughters so that he won't kill us with his band of henchmen."

"That's terrible. It wouldn't happen to me, would it?"

"Of course not, you don't belong to our village or these lands. But my niece Umeko is. It would be terrible if we lost her."

"What a terrible man." I took the bowl from the cook and brought it out to one of the tables. I felt bad for these people; having to pretend to celebrate on such a dismal occasion for them. That magistrate must be a horrible man…


	3. Vol 3 Convenient Circumvention

Vol. 3 Convenient Circumvention

-Mugen-

"There ain't no way in hell I'm wearing that stupid thing," I told the guy. We came to this stupid place the day before the wedding. Now I was staying at the magistrate's house. It made me a little nervous, what with the Shogunate probably still after us and all. I wasn't complaining, this place was crawling with fine lookin' hotties. The only thing was, they wanted me to wear some stupid uniform because they wanted the guards to look all alike. "I didn't ask for the damn job, and I'm telling you, that thing is ugly. Can't I just stay out of sight or sumthin'?"

"Fine!" the guy who hired me growled. Then he walked away pulling out his hair and sayin' something about not being able to find good help. My stomach growled and I remembered that I had plans to go get food.

"Yo!" I called to a girl walking by. "You know where I can get some grub?"

-Jin-

_'This is not worth it,'_ I thought as I held the fabric up for the woman, whose name was Chiyo. We were at the magistrate's house fitting the guards for uniforms. I never wanted to see another naked man in my life. I didn't think that anyone would catch on to who I was, I had removed my glasses for the time being. I felt a painful prick in my hand.

"Pay attention Jin!" she chuckled. I squeezed my hand as the blood welled up a tiny bit. "If you don't want to get jabbed, then you should make sure you watch where the needle is."

"Mmm…" I said with a nod. A moment later a man stormed in the room. He was growling and mumbling incoherently. After taking a walk around the room, he came over to us.

"I can't believe this! The whole consistency of the wedding is destroyed!" he cried, exasperatedly.

"What is it?" Chiyo asked.

"Some hot-shot guard I hired refuses to wear the uniform. I can't fire him because we'd be a guard short."

Volunteering didn't even cross my mind. I didn't want to be anywhere near the government right now. Plus, I already owed my services to Chiyo. I had given my word. I only had until tomorrow before she paid me and I could be on my way. I didn't know where I would go next, but wherever it was I would need the money.

"There. Now we're done." Chiyo announced. "Now Jin, please get the rest of the material and head back to the house. I'll be there in just a minute. I'm going to see what I can't do about this rogue guard of ours."

I nodded and left quickly.

-Fuu-

I sat with a big sigh at one of the tables. It was almost time to close, and I was tired. I wished I could just go to bed now. The old lady who owned the place came in and looked around. There was no one in here except me.

"Why don't you turn in Fuu? There isn't anyone here," she said to me.

"Thank you," I sighed gratefully. I got up. Man was I sore. I went through the kitchen where the cook handed me an eel and rice bowl. "Oh, this looks delicious!" I heard the owner greet another customer, and I looked sadly down at my food. I was hungry, but I guessed I'd have to wait to eat. She came in a few seconds later. "You can still go home Fuu, it's just one customer. I can handle it."

"Really? Thank you," I said as I went up the back stairs.

I collapsed on the floor next to the table and started eating. When I was done I put on some tea. I looked to the window when I heard the door to the house next door slide shut. I thought about the wedding that would be happening tomorrow. It just wasn't fair. That magistrate shouldn't be able to bully the people of this village. But…if they didn't give up their daughters, then they would all be attacked. Some magistrate…

That got me thinking about the first day I met Jin and Mugen. I had saved their butts from the magistrate when they were about to get their heads cut off. They did get out a little bit by themselves, but it was me who set off the fireworks that caused a distraction so they could get away. Those guys…I wondered where they were again. A big part of me wished that I could see them again, but another knew that it was time for me to get on with my life. I couldn't very well spend my entire life walking around with two men. I had to get a man while my looks were still good. The thought of getting married and having kids was frightening. I didn't think that I would be ready for anything like that anytime soon.

-Mugen-

I waited for my food while I knocked back some sake. The lady who owned the place was serving me. She said that her waitresses had all gone home. One was here, but she was upstairs and asleep. Apparently she was a real cutie. Too bad. I heard a door close next door as the lady brought me my food. Usually I ate really fast, but I took my time tonight. I didn't really want to go back to the magistrate's, but I didn't have a choice if I wanted that five ryo. It would be the most money I had in a long time. This town was a bore, but after tomorrow, I could get my ass the hell out of here.

Another person came in and sat next to me. I went to look and was surprised when I saw that it was a broad. She was pretty good-lookin'. I didn't know what she wanted though. Maybe she was a workin'-girl. "Sorry lady, I don't have any money besides stuff for food." I couldn't believe that I was sayin' that. She laughed.

"That isn't what I want. I have a husband and a child."

"So what is it then?"

"You're one of the guards at the wedding tomorrow, right?"

I arched an eyebrow and nodded. "What of it?"

"I'm Chiyo, I'm doing the uniforms for tomorrow. I heard you disagree with them, but I was hoping that we couldn't compromise."

"Compromise?" I asked, confused.

"Maybe I could make you a custom one?"

"As long as I don't look stupid."


	4. Vol 4 Patterns of Fate

Vol. 4 Patterns of Fate

-Fuu-

The teahouse was closed today because of the wedding. We were supposed to provide some of the food since we were one of the only two places in town that served food. We had been at the magistrate's house since dawn preparing dinner with the other cooks.

"Fuu, we need more oil!" the cook from the teahouse yelled to me. "Go and pick some up back at our kitchen."

"Uh…okay! I'll be back in a second!"

I ran out of the kitchen and through the halls to go get the oil. I turned a corner and tripped, falling uncontrollably toward the ground. I knew it was going to hurt. But suddenly I stopped falling when a pair of strong arms caught me. I sighed in relief and looked up to thank whoever had just saved me…

-Jin-

"Now that my services are no longer required, I think it's best if I'm on my way," I told Chiyo as we sat eating. It was the morning of the wedding, and now that they clothes were all ready, I wasn't needed.

"No longer required?" she asked. "What do you mean?" We still have to be there to help dress and make sure everybody's garments are in order. If one thing rips or a seam busts, we have to be there to fix it."

"I don't know how to dress people or sew."

"You can be there to lend a hand. Please Jin, I'm desperate. The girl who usually helps me has to go to the choosing."

"Choosing?" I questioned.

"Yes," she said darkly. The look in her eyes made me frown. "The magistrate's wife died a while ago, and now he's remarrying. Instead of taking his time and finding a girl he cares about, he's going to take one of the women from the village."

I didn't understand why they were letting him do this, but it wasn't my concern.

"He says that he will destroy the village if we don't comply. That man is supposed to uphold the law, but he is just another corrupt and power-hungry man." After a few moments of silence she stood. "Well, let's get going. We have to get this done."

-Fuu-

The man who had caught me must have been in his mid-thirties. He must have worked here at the palace, he was very well-groomed and had a lot of jewelry on. He lifted me to my feet and smiled. I blushed from embarrassment and backed up a couple of steps. (a/n: Ha, ha! You thought it was going to be Jin or Mugen, didn't you?)

"Sorry sir, I was just on my way to get some oil," I laughed.

"No harm done. You don't work here do you? I've never seen you before."

"No, I work at the teahouse in the village."

"So you are one of the village girls?" he asked more urgently. "How old are you?"

"I turned sixteen a little over a week ago," I told him, not understanding why he would want to know. "But I don't-"

"Very good," he said cutting me off. "Guards!" A few men came up behind him. He pointed to me. "This is the woman I pick to be my bride."

"What!?!" I shrieked as two of the guys grabbed me. "Let me go you jerks! I don't even live in the village!"

"Nice try girl, but by the end of today you'll be my wife."

Crap.

They tossed me in a big room with a bunch of attendants. They all started moving as soon as I got in. Two of them started undressing me, and another started taking my hair down. I gasped as they took my clothes off. I tried to hold them up, but it was useless.

"Get in the bath!" One of the women called as she grabbed the wrist I was using to cover up my chest. I screamed in surprise. She threw me in the bath. "This is no time to be modest."

The whole time they were getting me ready I was trying to tell them that I couldn't marry the magistrate because I wasn't from the village. The ignored me and just kept going on. I was getting angry at them, but I guessed they were just doing their jobs. They did my hair, put me in a new kimono, and did my nails. It was like the royal treatment. If it wasn't about to end in a horrible wedding where I would be forced to marry a man I didn't love, this would be really nice. I wished that Mugen and Jin were here to save me right about now. I was on my own though, I had to fix this by my self. This kind of stuff only used to happen when those two losers were around, but apparently bad luck just liked my company.


	5. Vol 5 Mandatory Matrimony

Vol. 5 Mandatory Matrimony

-Jin-

I was standing slightly behind a curtain next to Chiyo. The ceremony was about to start and we were waiting on the sidelines just to make sure nothing went wrong. I was tense. There were government officials everywhere and I kept thinking that one would recognize me. Chiyo elbowed me gently, I leaned in to see what she was going to say.

"Don't you think weddings are just beautiful?" she sighed longingingly. "It felt like mine was only yesterday." A small smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. "Why aren't you married? A handsome man like you should have a beautiful wife by now."

I wasn't going to tell her that I was a ronin and being chased by the government. The closest I had ever come to getting myself a permanent companion was Shino, but she was in the home for ex-brothel girls. She couldn't come out for three straight years.

"That's such a sad look in your eyes. Does this mean you once had a wife?"

"No," I said shortly.

"Okay, I see that it's none of my business."

The music started and she quieted down. The magistrate walked to the center of the dais (a/n: dais a stage-like thing). Then a few women came out, pushing the bride along. When they had her across from the magistrate they left. The frightened young girl turned towards the crowded room. I thought I was hallucinating. No it couldn't be…

-Mugen-

This place was full of stuffy old guys and their hag wives. I was in a big room waiting for them to get this crap over with. I wanted my money. I eyed my clothes, they weren't so bad. They sure as hell weren't as dorky as the other guy's. The ones that Chiyo made for me looked a little like my old clothes, but not as beat-up and more formal. I wasn't going to wear them after this though, I was used to the others.

"This shit is boring," I mumbled.

"It's an honor to be invited to protect the wedding of a magistrate," the guy next to me said.

"Whatever, I'm just tryin' to make my money. I don't give a damn about the magistrate."

"Good to know we have such a dedicated man at our side," he grumbled sarcastically. I chuckled. I thought that was kind of funny. The music started and the guy next to me straightened up. "Time to go."

I let out a deep breath and rolled my eyes. I hated weddings. They were a tragedy in my opinion. One girl for the rest of my life? Yeah, right. If I ever was crazy or drunk enough to get married, it would last a week at best. The magistrate came out into the middle of the stage.

"That's magistrate Kobayashi Daichi."

"Wow," I said uninterested. I felt bad for the chick that had to marry that guy. I had heard about him taking one of the village girls. He was kinda dorky lookin' too. A bunch of girls came out, pushing another girl along towards the magistrate. She was shakin' like a leaf. She was painted up and in some expensive lookin' kimono. The girl was cowering when she turned to look at the room.

(a/n: Now this is where it gets a little tricky…)

"Fuu!?!" I cried.

-Jin-

"Mugen?"

-Fuu-

"Jin?"

-Jin-

"Fuu?"

-Fuu-

"Mugen?"

-Mugen-

"Jin?"

(a/n: Confused yet?)

-Fuu-

I couldn't believe it! There they were, right in front of me. Man, I was glad that this was the one time that one of my wishes came true. Where did they even come from? I didn't really care, I just wanted them to save me. Jin and Mugen both put their hands on their swords. They were way outnumbered. How were we going to get out of this one?

"What is the meaning of this!?!" the magistrate demanded.

"Sorry, but we can't let you have the girl," Mugen said, approaching us.

"Mmm," Jin agreed, coming to stand next to him.

"Why not?" the magistrate asked.

"Uh…" I said slowly as I tried to think. "I'm already married!"

"What? To who?"

"Him," I said, pointing to Jin. It didn't matter who I said, but Jin looked a little more cleaned up than the wild-haired Mugen at the moment.

Jin's eyes widened and Mugen tried to hold back his laughter. I would whack him later. Right now I had to get out of this. The guards were starting to move in on Mugen and Jin.

"You are? Why didn't you say this before?" he asked, aggravated.

"I tried, but you hauled me off without letting me talk! How am I supposed to tell you something important when you have me dragged off like that?"

"She lies! She works at the teahouse with me, and I know that she isn't." It was the old cook from the teahouse. Why would he turn me in like that? Maybe he was trying to protect that niece of his and the rest of the village girls.

"Nice try," Kobayashi growled, clutching my wrist. "You _will_ be my wife, and there's nothing anyone can do about it." He turned to the guards and smiled. "Kill them."

"Big mistake, asshole," Mugen called to him.

The guards attacked the guys and then the fight started. The guests started screaming and running for their lives as soon as Jin had sliced open one of the guards. Mugen tripped one and impaled another. I was jerked away from them.

"You are coming with me!" The magistrate said as he started dragging me away.

"Let me go!" I growled as I tried prying his grip away from me. It was useless. "Jin, Mugen, come and help me!"

I was pulled out of a door and through a hallway. He dragged me outside and down some stairs. The courtyard was empty except for a small number of guards.

"Get me a pair of horses!" he yelled. Two of them ran off and I was looking at the door, waiting for my friends to come help. Right on cue they came though the door and straight for us. Oh boy, this was going to get messy. I winced when the cut down most of the guards and left them there, groaning in pain.

"Release her," Jin said calmly.

"Very well." He let go of me and I walked towards my saviors. Was I ever happy to see them.

"Fuu, move!" Mugen yelled suddenly. I didn't know what he was talking about at first. I turned to see what they were staring at and an explosive pain hit me in the side. I gasped. The magistrate had taken out his tonto and stabbed me. I had never been stabbed before…Oh my.

-Jin-

We tried to stop him before he got Fuu, but we were too late. I ran forward and caught her before she fell to the ground. Mugen rushed past me and brutally impaled the magistrate.

"Die motherfucker!"

Kobayashi coughed up some blood and sank to his knees. Mugen shoved his sword in all the way to the hilt.

"Enough," I said to him. Fuu was still alive, she had just fainted. "We need to get Fuu out of here."

He pulled his katana out and wiped it off on the magistrate's clothes. "Fine. I'm done here anyway."


	6. Vol 6 Role Reversal

Vol. 6 Role Reversal

-Mugen-

We found a small shack to sleep in. Jin went to see if he could kind some food and I was babysitting Fuu. It had been two days and she hadn't woken up yet. She was sweating real bad. Jin said he hoped she wasn't getting an infection. That would be bad, she might die if that happened. She groaned and turned her head. I got up and went to sit next to her.

"Fuu, you awake?" I whispered. She didn't say anything. Maybe she was havin' a dream or nightmare. I got the cloth out of the bowl with water in it and wiped the sweat that was trickling down her forehead. Fuu was usually the one to do this crap, but now it was her. I figured I owed her. Her hair was all plastered to her head and she was pale. I wasn't too surprised about that, this was the first time she'd ever been hurt this bad. She had been hit a few times and there was the bad beating she got at Ikitsuki Island, but never stabbed. I didn't think this would be it for Fuu. She was a stubborn bitch, no doubt she would be back getting on my nerves in a day or so. I sighed and threw the cloth back into the water harshly.

-Jin-

"Worried?" I asked Mugen when I saw him throw the cloth. I had inadvertently snuck up on him. I knew he was worried about Fuu, and so was I. I knew Fuu had some kind of feelings for Mugen ever since that night back at the river when Fuu told me of her fears of us splitting apart. Maybe she didn't feel that way anymore, but it had only been a few months since we saw each other.

"No…maybe a little." He looked up at me. "I just feel kinda bad, ya know? We always save her ass and this time we didn't."

"I feel the same way." I laid down some fish it had taken me forever to catch and started skewering them.

"Good, you got dinner. I didn't know you could fish now, you used to suck at it."

I glared at him and jammed the stick a little harder than I should have through the fish's middle. Mugen grinned crookedly, an expression that was familiar to me but had been so long since I had seen.

"Just like old times, eh?"

I nodded. "Mmm."

"Kinda funny how this keeps happening to us. We started goin' in three separate directions, and here we are all ending up in the same place. To top it all off we're back to saving Fuu again." He chuckled again. "I don't think that the three of us will able to get away from each other, no matter how hard we try."

"So it seems," I agreed. It wasn't the worst prospect in the world. They were my only friends.

"So what have you been doing for the past few months?" Mugen questioned.

"Not much," I answered as I leaned against the shack's wall.

"Apparently you haven't gotten to like talking any more. You're still quiet as ever."

"I doubt that will ever change."

-Fuu-

My eyes cracked slowly open. Firelight dimly lit the room I was in. My side hurt pretty bad, it was then that I remembered what happened. Jin…Mugen…the magistrate stabbing me. I sat up quickly with a gasp. Jin and Mugen's heads turned to me quickly. My kimono slid down my shoulders and I pulled it up quickly. I blushed knowing that they had to take it off to do something about my wound. I still had my --- on to my relief. I think I would have died of embarrassment if Mugen had snuck a peek while I was asleep. He would do something like that too…jerk.

"What are ya tryin' to do, reopen the cut?" Mugen asked like I was stupid. Yup, same old Mugen.

Jin came and gently pushed my shoulder until I was lying down again. "You are badly hurt, you need to stay down."

"I'm fine," I assured him. "I'm kind of hungry though."

"What's new?" Mugen mumbled.

"How did you guys come to the village?" I asked. "Where have you been?"

Mugen answered first. "I was in the city and some guy decided to pick a fight with me, then when I took care of him some guy offered me five ryo to do security at a wedding."

"Five ryo!?! Did you get the money?"

"No, I got some of it, but the rest was going to be paid to us after the wedding. Look at this stupid thing I had to wear," he said pointing to the outfit he was wearing. "The lady who did the outfits made me one special 'cause I didn't like the others."

"You were the guard who refused to wear the outfits?" Jin questioned. "Chiyo told me about you."

"How do you know Chiyo?" Mugen asked.

"Who is Chiyo?" I interrupted.

"Chiyo was a woman whose husband asked me to deliver medicine for their sick son. I too was in the city when I was recruited. When I got here the woman asked me to help her. She is the local seamstress and was making the garments for the wedding. She asked for my help."

"Ha! You were doing a chick job?" Mugen laughed in disbelief.

"You were staying at the seamstress' house?" I asked. "I was working at the teahouse next door. I was working as a waitress and they let me stay in a room upstairs."

"The cute waitress was you?" Mugen questioned. "The old lady lied."

"Hey!"

"It seems we were all staying very close to each other, and passed at just the right moments to not see one another," Jin interjected, stopping the argument. He handed Mugen and I a skewered fish.

"So what happens now?" I asked. It had been on my mind since I saw them. Would we split up again, or would we stay together? I didn't know which would be best, but I knew what my heart wanted. It wanted to be with my friends again. I had been fine by myself these past few months, but I was lonely. I had proved to myself that I could make it on my own.

"I dunno," Mugen shrugged. "I didn't really have any plans."

"Nor did I," Jin added. "Where did you come from Fuu?"

"Nowhere really, I've just been walking around. Me and Momo. I was just trying to pick up a little money while I was here. It was my birthday last week you know, I'm sixteen now."

"Happy friggin' birthday," Mugen said uninterestedly.

"Thanks, jackass." I missed calling him that.

"Happy birthday Fuu," Jin said more nicely. There, that was a more proper birthday greeting, maybe a little reserved. Still better though.

"So here we are. The three of us back together, just like before. There isn't anywhere to go though, we don't have a mission."

"Like we would ever do any more favors for you," Mugen sneered. "The last one you wrangled us into was a trick. By the way, I should kick the shit out of you for that."

"You had fun and you know it," I teased. I knew that Mugen wouldn't have traded our journey for anything else. We had some good times back then, not that it was that long ago or anything.

"Maybe until we both almost died," he protested, gesturing to Jin as well.

I crossed my arms and stared at him with a skeptical look. "So you're telling me that you two didn't think that those were the most challenging and thrilling fights of your lives? And that if you could do it all over again, you would take it back?"

Jin shook his head, and reluctantly, so did Mugen.

"So what's your point?" he asked, disgruntled.

"That was it," I shrugged.

"I think we'd better get some rest," Jin said. "We have to move along tomorrow before any one tries to catch us."


	7. Vol 7 Filching From Mugen

Vol. 7 Filching From Mugen

-Mugen-

It was a nice day to take a stroll, so I was checkin' out a town near camp. We could afford to stay somewhere, but we were laying low. I said to let 'em come for us. Jin said it would be a bad idea with Fuu injured. I guess I agreed. He didn't say nothin' about getting some food though.

"Give me two orders of grilled squid," I said to a vendor. Some kid bumped into me and then ran off. That was way too familiar. I checked my gi and sure enough, my money was gone. That little bastard. "Hold those for me," I told the guy. I ran off to catch the punk.

I caught him around the corner and picked him up by the front of his clothes. "Where's my money?" The kid handed me the sack and I let him go. I was about to say to not do it again, but I had done it a million times and I hated bein' a hypocrite. I tossed the sack back, happy to have it again. A hand reached down from the roof and snatched it.

"Thanks."

"Get back here!" I yelled, chasing after whoever it was. They were fast, but not as fast as me. I was there when he jumped off the roof. He was dressed up like a ninja. "I'll give you two seconds to give me what's mine."

"I would, but I don't have the time to kill you right now."

"Then let me see your face then coward," I sneered.

"No can do."

"Then I guess I'm going to have to take my money from you."

"Try me."

I pulled out my sword and ran at him. He rolled out of the way and drew out his own katana. It reminded me of a move I would do. God I missed fighting all of the time like this. Our swords met and we both fought for the upper-hand. I won in the end. I tried one of my best moves to trip him, but he flipped backwards. Nimble bastard. I came at him and we locked up again. Then he kicked me and I landed against the wall with a thud. A second later a sai stuck into the wall nest to my head.

"That was tricky, I growled. "But you missed."

"Ninjas are all about tricky," he replied. "And I didn't miss." Cocky. I grabbed the sai and threw it back at him. He caught it and put it in his belt. "Thank you."

He took off running at full-speed. He was almost to the woods when Jin stepped in front of him. Jin did some tricky move that knocked the guy out cold.

"Why were you chasing him?" he asked.

"He stole my money.

-Fuu-

"What's going on!?!" I cried as Mugen and Jin brought in a tied up man. He was struggling a lot but not getting anywhere. They tossed him on the floor and pointed their sword at him. "Are you going to kill him!?!"

"I was thinkin' about it," Mugen answered. Jin cut the ropes tying the man's hands. His feet were still bound. "Who do you work for?"

"The Shogun?" Jin asked.

"I work for myself," the guy said. There was something odd about that guy's voice. It was just off.

"I'll just kill you then," Mugen sneered.

"Wait Mugen," Jin said. "We should ask more questions."

"Mugen?" the man asked, trying to get up. "Mugen of the Ryukyu Islands?" We all stopped and stared at the man.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"And you're Jin," he said, turning to my other friend. "I should have noticed from the glasses. Are you Fuu Kasumi?

"Take off that damn mask," Mugen ordered. He reached behind his head and pulled the strings that held his mask on. It fell to the ground and we all stood there, shocked.

It was a young woman, only a little older than me. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail that fell nearly to her waist. Her skin was sort of weird color. I wondered why. It was her eyes that were the most odd though, they were big and blue…really blue.

"You're a chick!" Mugan cried.

"Last time I checked," she said.

"Who are you and how do you know us?" Jin commanded.

"My name is Tsukiko Hashinaka, and I've been following you for a very long time." She was looking at me.


	8. Vol 8 Connected Histories

Vol. 8 Connected Histories

-Fuu-

"You've been following us?" I asked.

"Yes, since before you got to Nagasaki and Ikitsuki Island. I wasn't far behind then. But when you three split up it was harder to track you down. It was way easier finding you three when you were together and getting in trouble. You left a trail of disaster like a tornado."

"Why?" Mugen demanded.

"Because my parents, as well as my master, were friends of Seizou Kasumi."

"Really?" I asked, curious and excited.

"Yes. They knew each other for a long time. My parents were helping get the Christians out before the government found them. They were in England when they fled to Ikitsuki Island and were killed…They were arranging transport to get them out."

"What happened after the massacre?" Jin asked.

"My parents were devastated about that, but they were still determined to help. They were in negotiations when my dad got sick. It was typhoid fever, he died. Mom wasn't the same after that, but she still tried. She didn't come home one night, but they eventually found her floating in the river. She was murdered. My master was the only one I had left after that.

"My mom died from sickness too, and my father would have if Kagetogi hadn't gotten to him," I told her to show I understood.

"I'm sorry for that Fuu. No man survives when the Hand of God comes for them."

"Escept for four-eyes over here," Mugen pointed out.

"Ah yes, I heard it was you who got him. Brilliant technique."

"It was the only way," Jin said.

"I believe it, that man was legendary and now you are even more so."

"Enough with this crap, finish the story," Mugen sighed disgustedly. Tsukiko gave him a piercing glare.

"Anyway," Tsukiko continued. "When all of that happened I was fourteen. I tried to finish my parent's work alongside my master, but no one would listen to a young girl and a foreigner. They said to let them all die, they didn't want war. That was when I disconnected myself from my country and came here. I was determined to fulfill my family's promise to help yours. It took me a long time to get here though, and sadly, not to long ago my master was arrested for a crime he didn't commit. They hung him."

"Whoa," I gasped.

"You said you left your ties to your country?" Jin asked.

"I refused my old name and all that my heritage had given me. I took my mother's family name and my master gave me a new one. He sort of adopted me."

"An English girl wanting to become Japanese, now that's some weird shit."

"You don't really look English," I added.

"My mother was Japanese, which makes me half. I figure I qualify," she argued. Mugen stood up and dusted himself off. He had his uncaring look on his face.

"Whatever. I don't really care. The fact is that you're going to stick out like a sore thumb being a girl dressed like a ninja."

"I think I know how to take care of that," I said slyly.

-Mugen-

"What do you think?" Fuu asked, pushing Tsukiko in front of us.

"Clever," Jin said. "Where did you get the things to do it?"

Tsukiko looked different. She had a kimono on and actually looked like a girl. It was blue and red with white cranes and gray clouds stitched into it. Her hair was up and done kinda like Fuu's. I wouldn't have pegged her for a European if I had just saw her walkin' around. The only thing that threw it off a little was her skin, that was a shade or two off, and her blue eyes.

"Doesn't the color do wonders for her?" Fuu asked. "It was pretty easy, all I had to do was go back to the village and pick up a few things. I had to be sneaky, but I left money. She'll fit right in with us."

Jin and I looked at each other. "One, you ain't sneaky, not if your life depended on it. Trust us, we know. Two, what did you mean by 'us'?"

"She's coming along too."

"No."

"I have to," Tsukiko said. "It's my family's duty."

"Look girlie-" I started.

"Shut it Mugen, she's coming!" Fuu shouted at me.

"Fine!" I yelled back. We started down the path and I noticed something. I fell back to talk to Tsukiko. "Hey, where's your sword?"

"If I showed you, you'd probably blush," she answered with a small smile. I couldn't help but grin too.

"Try me."


	9. Vol 9 Suspicions and A New Dimension

(a/n: This is the real title, I had to shorten it for the space)

Vol. 09 A Lesson, Suspicions, and A New Dimension

-Jin-

We were still walking down the same road two days later. The days were getting colder, reminding us that winter was on our heels. Soon it would be harder to travel with all of the rain. I had no idea of what we were going to do; we didn't have enough money to get a room, and it would be foolish to hope that there were going to be abandoned places along the way. I suppose that we'd do what we had always done before. Get jobs.

Fuu and Tsukiko seemed to be bonding quite well. It was probably for the best that she had another woman to confide in. I looked back at the new addition to our group. She was walking gracefully next to Fuu. Her eyes were roaming the scenery, drinking it in. after a long blink she stared suddenly up at me. She smiled coyly and I turned away quickly, somehow embarrassed that I had been looking at her.

"So you said that your parents died and you started to Japan when you were fourteen?" Mugen asked suddenly. My eyes slid to look at them. What was he up to now?

"Yeah," she said with a nod. She kept staring straight ahead, her expression bland.

"How old are you now? 'Cause you don't look like a kid."

"I'm eighteen."

"What took you four years to get to Japan?"

"Oh, you know walking across Europe and Asia most of the way takes up a little time. I can't blame the terrain though, we did _stroll_ sometimes too," she replied sarcastically. "What took me so long was two continents and a fair bit of ocean, idiot."

Fuu giggled, putting her hand over her mouth. A smile forced it's way onto my lips. Mugen glared at her malevolently. "I _know_ that. I just didn't think that it would take a whole four years."

"Have you ever seen a map of the world Mugen?" she asked. I tilted my head, not quite sure where she was going with this.

"No."

Tsukiko pulled a folded up parchment out of her kimono. "Come here." Mugen came to her side. Fuu and I approached her as well. She pointed a finger at the small landmass that I recognized as my country. "This little island over here is Japan, and _way_ over here is England." She slid her finger westward until she reached another island.

"All of that in the middle-" Mugen started, but was cut off.

"-Is Europe and Asia," Tsukiko finished.

"Wow," he said with a nod. We all started walking again and Tsukiko put the map away. She adjusted her kimono and shivered.

"How old are you Fuu?" she asked, continuing the earlier theme of the conversation.

"Sixteen since over a week ago," Fuu answered. "I can't wait to be eighteen."

"Maybe you'll grow some decent boobs by then," Mugen teased.

"Like you have room to talk," Tsukiko scoffed. "I'll bet the reason you act all bad is because you want to make up for other _short_comings."

I knew right then that that Mugen and Tsukiko were not going to get along very well.

"Don't go there bitch."

"Fine," she sighed. "How old are you though?"

"Twenty," he said grudgingly.

"Jin?"

"Twenty one," I replied.

"We're all pretty close in age, aren't we?"

"Why do you ask Tsukiko?"

"No reason, and call me Tsuki."

I stared at her in confusion. Why had she gone through the trouble to ask us about all of our ages? Maybe she just wanted to know or maybe she was using it for something else. I kept my eyes on her for a while longer, a big part of me didn't want to trust this stranger.

Later…

(a/n: still in Jin's POV)

I didn't know if I should trust Tsukiko. She seemed harmless, but those were sometimes the most dangerous kind of people. I had caught a glimpse of what she had done with Mugen in town. She was a fairly skilled fighter. Her story about her family and Seizou Kasumi seemed feasible. There was always the possibility that it could have been made up though. I supposed that only time would tell. The truth would eventually surface.

"You look like you're thinkin' about the same thing I am." It was Mugen. "There's sumthin' about her."

"We do not know if she's lying."

"We don't know if she's telling the truth either. She's not a bad fighter too, she might sneak up on us."

"How good is she?" I asked. He had gone head to head with her.

"I'm stronger than her, and faster on foot. But she's fast with her movements and has a different style. She's good, I don't know exactly how good. I'd need to fight her some more. That one back at the village was a game."

-Fuu-

"Did you ever meet my father?" I asked.

"When I was very young," she said with a nod. "I don't remember much. Just what he looked like and a few other little things."

We were exploring a campsite that we stumbled upon during a walk. It was weeks old, but there was still stuff everywhere. There had to have been a fight or something. I saw a bow and quiver of arrows next to a bush. Tsukiko came to stand next to me. She looked at the bow and took out one of the arrows. She poked the tip with her finger.

"Do you know how to shoot?" she asked me.

"No, do you?" I questioned.

"Yeah." I handed her the bow and she tried the string. "Still good. This will come in handy later."

"What was he like when he was strong? I only met him when I was sick."

"Like I said, I met Seizou- your father- when I was young."

"Oh." I was a little disappointed.

"I remembered that he was brave and caring. He had this laugh that stuck in my head forever."

I smiled. I remembered his laugh too. That was about the only good thing that I remembered. I dreamt about it sometimes.

"I heard that you were really mad at him when you met him. I understand, but he did a lot of good for other people. I don't think that he would have left if he didn't have to."

"Yeah, I know," I sighed.

"I'm still mad at my parents too," Tsuki said as she passed me to head back.

"What?" I asked, a little confused.

"They knew how dangerous what they were doing was, and they didn't choose us first and we suffered for it. I know what they believed in was right, and they are heroes for what they did," she laughed a little. "I would have done the same thing, but I'm still mad at them.


	10. Vol 10 Midnight Discussions

Vol. 10 Midnight Discussions

-Mugen-

We sat around the campfire, eating the fish we had caught a while ago. We were all happy to be around the flames, it had gotten fuckin' freezing since sundown. We had all had pretty good luck at the river, except for one of us. Tsuki hadn't caught anything and wasn't giving up. The bitch was stubborn. Even Jin had got a few.

"I can't believe there's a worse fisher than you," I snickered after swallowing a mouthful of the tender meat. Fuu giggled. I just had to mess with Tsukiko some more. I turned around and put my hand to my mouth. "Hey! I'll give you some of my fish if you promise to be my slave!"

"Shut up Mugen!" Tsuki yelled. She sat on the bank of the river, twisting her hands around the pole. She looked about ready to snap it in half.

"Sure, but it won't help you catch a fish!"

She stood up and stormed over to us. My eyes narrowed, unsure if she was going to come and hit me or not. She grabbed the bow and an arrow from the quiver she had found earlier. She loaded one in and pointed it right at our heads. Shit! I didn't have a chance to move even. She let the arrow loose and it went right past my ear and into the bushes behind us. I was gonna kill her for tryin' to get me. There was a loud shrieking noise, surprising us. Pursing her lips she went over to the thick forest. She went in and came back a few minutes later dragging a wild pig.

"Have your fish, I'm eating pork," she gloated. Holy crap. She dropped it in front of us with a thud. Fuu, Jin, and me all leaned in, mouths watering. She put her hand on it and leaned towards me. "I'll give you some Mugen, if you promise to be my slave."

-Tsukiko-

I woke up in the middle of the night after a nasty dream. I shivered, sorry that we didn't have any blankets. My teeth started chattering. To distract myself I started to look around in the darkness. I could just make out the silhouettes of the others. Fuu was sleeping serenely next to me. Her eyelashes fluttered every few seconds, telling me that she was probably having a dream. Mugen was snoring away obnoxiously. He was sprawled out on his patch of the floor, his right arm at an odd angle. Jin was…nowhere to be seen.

I got up quietly and went outside to look for him. I started down the river's bank, hoping that I was going in the right direction. I found him sitting on a rock staring at the moving water. I didn't try to sneak up on him, I didn't think that our relationship was there just yet. I just walked up and sat next to him. The moonlight reflected off of his glasses as his head turned to look at me.

"If you're looking for leftovers, I wouldn't bother. Fuu ate everything," I told him. I was trying to break the ice a little. Things were tense between us; I knew he didn't trust me. He was smart.

"Something you'll get accustomed to," he replied quietly.

I laughed. "So she does this often?"

"Mmm." I took that as a yes.

Other than the cold, it was a nice night. The small crescent of a moon wasn't providing much light, but the stars helped. It reminded me of home. I pulled my legs up and put my arms around my knees. I started to warm up a little as I rested my chin on my knees. The soft fabric felt nice against my face. I was getting used to the kimono. I hadn't worn one since I was little and I had taken one of my first trips to this country. I fell in love with it right away. The country, not the kimono.

"Why are you up anyway?" I asked, feeling the silence had lasted long enough.

"I wasn't sleeping well."

This guy wasn't big on words. It didn't bother me, it was intriguing. Of all three, Jin was the hardest for me to figure out. I liked them all, and Fuu was becoming a good friend. Maybe because we had so much in common. Mugen was just fun to mess with. But Jin, he reminded me of a character in the mystery novels my father used to buy for me. I wanted to know what made this aloof ronin tick.

The breeze pulled a strand of my bangs loose. It tickled as it floated across my skin, making my nose wrinkle. I tucked it carefully behind my ear and went back to the conversation.

"Me either," I said finally. "Nightmares."

"What about?"

"Things I've seen. I have witnessed some terrible things on my journey." I paused in thought, unwillingly remembering. "I've done some pretty horrible stuff too."

"We all have."

"I lost the man I loved," I told him bitterly. It wasn't divulging some huge secret, it was just something that had happened to me. He looked at me with an odd expression. It was a few seconds before I understood it. "Not my sensei." He nodded. "That would be so wrong. I told you he sort of adopted me, he was more like a second father."

Again we sat in a careful silence. The steady rushing of the river and the rippling of the trees the only noise. Most of the animals were asleep now.

"There was a woman I cared for, but she's gone," Jin told me as his eyes turned skyward. People were always doing that, as if there were answers up in the indigo darkness. Must be some kind of reflex.

"Dead?"

"Home for ex-brothel workers." I was surprised that he was voluntarily talking about personal information.

"Ah."

That stunned me and didn't at the same time. Jin was well-mannered enough to be noble blood, but he was wandering aimlessly around Japan. I had heard enough about his past to know why -if he was nobility- he did not have all that he was entitled to. He had killed his master…he was a ronin. He would have been trained for childhood to pick a wife for good breeding. Whoever this woman was that Jin had fallen for must have been something if he was going against everything he had been raised for.

"What happened to yours?" he asked in an exhale. I knew that reaction; painful memories. This answer would no doubt drag more up for me.

"He died. He was a sailor's son, so the sea was in his blood. He started the journey with me when we were young and just friends. When we got to India, he went to the docks to get some money…I think he missed the water. Bad weather struck one night and his ship, along with the rest outside of the harbor, were destroyed. Over five hundred people died that night."

"That is very unfortunate. Many of the people in your life have died tragically." Jin shifted into a more comfortable position.

"I wouldn't call it unfortunate, I don't think there are words for things like that." I silenced for a moment, thinking about my lost love as well as my family. I snapped out of it and tried to perk up. "So what's keeping you from seeing said lover?"

"She's not allowed to go out or see anyone for three years. She's also married to a low-life gambler who sold her into prostitution to pay his debts. She doesn't love him."

"But she loves you?" I pressed. He shrugged, which I didn't believe. He knew if she loved him or not, but I wasn't going to push the matter. "Wow, even nuns in convents get out more than that. So what's keeping you from getting your girl?"

"I just said-" he started. I stopped him by putting my hand up.

"If you really love her, then nothing can or will stop you." I tossed a rock into the flowing river. Jin stood and started walking back to camp. "I didn't mean to offend you, Jin. If I did, I'm sorry."

"No, you just gave me something to reflect upon." He took a few steps and then stopped again. "Goodnight Tsukiko."

"Night," I sighed, throwing another stone into the water. I watched until long after the ripples were gone before standing and heading to bed myself.

Please R&R!!!!!!


	11. Vol 11 Abnormal Amusement

Vol. 11 Abnormal Amusement

-Mugen-

In less than a day we reached Osaka. It was good to be in a city where I could get the hell away from everyone and do something…fun. Fuu was dragging Jin shopping. How in the hell that happened, I didn't know. Fuu wanted Tsukiko to go, but she said she didn't have the money. I was happy that I finally got to a place where I could get rid of all the extra energy I had pent up.

I left me and Jin's room and saw Tsuki sitting alone in her and Fuu's room. She was brushing her hair. Damn, it was even longer when it was down. She looked at me in the mirror when I passed and smiled. I stopped and leaned on the door frame.

"What are you gonna do while we're gone?" I asked. I didn't really care, but I figured I'd ask so that we'd know where she was later. Jin had said he wanted us to keep an eye on her.

She shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Well," I sighed. "Have fun with that."

"Hey Mugen!" she shouted when I was a few steps away. I stopped.

"What?"

"Where are you going?"

"To get some action." I didn't care if she knew. What I needed, I had a feeling she wasn't gonna give up. I went a couple more steps.

"Mugen," she said a little more quietly.

Maybe she _was_ going to offer. Sure as hell there wasn't any way I was sayin' no. "Yeah?"

"Have fun." She came out of the room as she said it and passed me. She was walking away. I frowned. She said she didn't know where she was goin', but she looked like she was heading somewhere. I caught up with her.

"I thought you said you weren't doin' nothin'."

"No, you asked _where_ I was going. I said 'who knows?' I still don't know where I'm going, I'm just…going."

She was tryin' to be clever. Maybe she really was an assassin or spy from the government and was off to report the shit she'd learned. There was no fuckin' way I was letting her out of my sight. I was finished with those government assholes.

"I thought you were going to get some action Mugen," she said over her shoulder to me. Yeah, right.

"I was re-thinkin' it. You hungry?"

"Shouldn't we wait for Fuu and Jin to get dinner? I mean, we are going to meet back at the rooms at sunset."

"Fine," I thought for a second to come up with something else. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends…" she said slowly. She turned and looked up at me with this weird look. It was like she was tryin' to figure me out or size me up right before a battle. I tried to do the same thing, but couldn't get anything. There was a secret in those eyes of hers. Behind all of the blue and the careful emotion, there was something I wanted to know. "Mugen."

"What?" I asked, forgetting that I was talking to her.

"The question?" she said expectantly.

"What question?" Then I remembered. "Oh yeah. You said earlier that you don't work for no one but yourself, and I wanted to know why you were givin' your life to Fuu if that was true."

"I'm not working for Fuu, I'm fulfilling a promise. It's not like I have anything else to do. I really didn't have to come here, but I thought it was the right thing to do."

I laughed. She arched an eyebrow at me and pressed her lips together. "Oh, I get it. You're a do-gooder."

Now she laughed. "I rarely make it a habit of doing 'the right thing'. I steal, I drink, I do pretty much everything an honorable woman shouldn't do. I would hardly call myself a do-gooder."

"So you're a bad bitch then?"

"Oh, well if you want to call it that…Then the answer is yes."

"I got an idea of what we can do to kill some time then," I told her with a grin.

"What's that?" she asked, interested.

Later…

-Fuu-

"What in the hell are they doing?" I asked Jin, shocked and very bewildered. We had just walked in on them doing this, and now we were just standing there watching. It was actually just getting good.

"I don't know," he answered. "I can assure you that it was Mugen's idea though. Tsukiko doesn't seem like the kind of person to do this for no apparent reason."

I turned back to the scene in front of me.

"Why are you holding back Mugen?" Tsuki asked, sweat trickling down her forehead. "Don't think I can take it?"

"I don't know if you're ready for something like me," he panted.

"Someone is going to pull something," Jin sighed, talking to himself.

"Give me everything you got. Don't think because I'm a girl that I can't take a little pain."

"I like a girl who can be rough."

"You don't know the meaning yet," she groaned as she put in more effort. Mugen bit his lip in the effort. I was absolutely fascinated by this.

"How did it even come to this?" Jin wondered aloud. "We leave for a few hours and they start acting like animals. How long have you two been at it?"

"About an hour and a half," Tsuki breathed shakily. She had started to tremble all over. Mugen was doing the same thing. I had a feeling that this was going to be done with soon. "I didn't think that he would last this long."

"You either. I thought you'd give out," he was snarling now. Probably from the effort. "NO!" he yelled as Tsuki started to get the advantage. "My damn body can't take this shit."

"Errrggh.." Tsuki growled as she pushed farther and farther. Then it was done. "Ha! I told you I'd win Mugen. You owe me a round of sake now!"

"You two are so stubborn. All of that pain just to win at arm wrestling. Sheesh," I cried. I sat down next to Tsuki, who was nursing her arm. "Why were you doing that?"

"He said he was stronger than me any day, so I said that I'd prove him wrong. He didn't think that a _broad_ could beat him in a competition of strength," Tsukiko bragged.

Mugen looked pissed. "Hey, I was off today. I'll get you another day."

"Fine with me."

"To think we missed this to go shopping," Jin said sarcastically. "Can we go and eat now? God only knows what would happen if Mugen challenged Tsukiko to a wrestling match."

(a/n: Tee he he…Ah, that was good. Okay, now this next part takes place parallel to the time Mugen and Tsukiko were getting into it. This is what happened when Jin and Fuu were shopping together.)

-Jin-

"Jin, what do you think of this fan?" Fuu asked of me as I looked at a new sharpening stone. My old one was worn and I required a replacement. I needed it for upkeep between real sharpenings. I looked up to the fan. It was white with lotus flowers painted on it. I didn't know why she kept asking me for my opinion, but I answered despite my inexperience on the matter.

"I think that it's nice."

"I agree. The pink one would go better with my kimono though." She picked up a decorative hair comb. "How about this?"

"It looks expensive," I warned as I handed the man two coins for the stone.

"Do you think that Tsuki would like it?" she wondered. Fuu was getting very attached to Tsukiko, and we still didn't know if we could trust her. I needed to say something to her.

"Yes, but I think I should talk to you about her." Fuu looked at me intently, willing to hear what I was about to say. "Tsukiko is very charming, and I understand why you are becoming friends with her. You have to remember though, that this kind of thing happened before with Sara. We have a lot of enemies, and it is always a possibility she is one of them."

"I know Jin." I was surprised by her reaction. She was calm and had a small smile on her lips. "I learned my lesson. I know that I trust people really easily, but I've been keeping an eye on her."

"I'm happy to see that you learned something. Maybe this means we won't have to save you as much now."

"Really?" she asked earnestly.

"No," I told her with a smile.

Please R&R!!!!!!!!


	12. Vol 12 Shadowing a Shadow

Vol. 12 Shadowing a Shadow

-Tsukiko-

I was getting dressed slowly. I didn't want to wake up Fuu on my way out, or anyone else for that matter. I picked up my sandals so I could put them on outside. My sword was pressed along my spine, the only place I could hide it and have it not be seen. My hair was down, just to make sure it was covered up. Women weren't supposed to carry anything other than a tonto, unless they had special permission by the government. Which I did not, and if I did get caught with it –something that was unlikely- I would pay dearly. My kimono was still hanging up, I was wearing my ninja clothes tonight. I tied my mask just around the lower half of my face so that I wouldn't be recognized later. I padded carefully across the smooth wood floor and opened the door as quietly as I could. When it was shut again I started out. I had to get back before anyone noticed my absence.

-Mugen-

"She's leaving," I announced to Jin when I heard Tsukiko's footsteps fade out. We woke up a few minutes ago when we heard Tsuki start to get ready. I lifted my head from the soft pillow and looked to Jin. He was putting his glasses on and sitting up.

"I know. We should follow her. I don't want to know too late that she is working against us."

"I thought we were going to be done with this shit for a while after Ikitsuki." We got up and put on our clothes. Jin put his swords into his belt with a sort of a determined look. What was that all about?

"Don't forget that we may need to kill her tonight. Fuu won't be pleased."

"What's new? Too bad that we might kill her though, she's pretty good-lookin'."

"Yes, but we can't let these things get in the way."

We left, running quietly to catch up before we lost her. We caught up a few streets away. She was in her ninja gear. There was nothin' she could do at this hour, in this part of town, in those clothes, that would be good. It was way more than shady. Warnings were going off in my head like crazy. Jin put an arm out to stop me when Tsukiko stopped in front of an alley. She was waiting.

"There ain't nothin' good that's gonna come out of this," I whispered to Jin. He nodded.

A second later a man came out of nowhere and they started talking. The man was recoiling as she was advancing. Tsukiko looked like she was intimidating him. That was interesting. I couldn't see her being a hired thug.

"I think that we need a better vantage point," Jin suggested. I agreed. He pointed up and I nodded. We climbed carefully onto the rooftop and snuck our way closer until we heard voices. We squatted and peeked over the edge of the roof.

"Look, I said last time I was here that you had until next time I came to get me my money. I gave you enough time," Tsuki said to the man. She was standing with her arms crossed and her head tilted to the side a little.

Jin and I frowned at each other. She was pressing someone for money? How did she even know anybody in Osaka? There were too many questions and no answers.

"Please, I just-" the man begged.

"You just what? You have no excuses. It isn't my fault that you have a gambling problem."

"I need it to pay off a debt," he babbled. Tsukiko laughed at him. It wasn't her normal chiming, warm laugh. This one was wicked and harsh.

"You're right, you need it to pay _me_. You know if I didn't take what was owed now then you would spend it on booze, you drunkard. Don't try to deny it either."

"Please ma'am."

"Why? What excuse do you have that would convince me to allow you to keep _my_ money?" It was a long time and the man hadn't answered. I was starting to think that maybe she had killed him when she started talking. "That's what I thought. Do yourself a favor, stop drinking and gambling. You're going to get into a lot of trouble if you keep stiffing people for their money."

The man ran away stumbling as he went. He was already drunk. So she was right, he was a drunkard. Tsukiko put something into her clothes and started off to another location. We got off the roof and went after her, wanting to see where else she had to go. She went into the public gardens next and disappeared into the trees. Jin and I went in slow, looking around. We didn't know where she had gone. It was like she just up and vanished.

"Did you see where she went?" Jin asked me as quietly as possible.

"No, I lost her after she passed those trees."

-Jin-

I didn't think about it until that moment that we had somehow forgotten she was a ninja. She was well versed in the art of discrepancy and disappearing. She could be anywhere around us. We kept silent as we searched for her. Finally we came to the edge of a large pond. There was a structure in the middle that looked almost like a meditation area. Tsukiko was laying across it staring up at the sky. Her hands were trailing through the water, creating gentle ripples.

"I was waiting for you two," she said to us, just loud enough for us to hear. Mugen looked at me out of the corner of his eye. He didn't like the situation either. We could have just walked into a trap. "I'm not surprised you followed me. Come join me if you want." It was a challenge.

"I don't think that would be wise," I told her.

"Why? I'm unarmed." She pointed to her weapons that were lying on the ground near us. "I thought you guys might like to ask me any more questions that you might have. I have nothing to hide. I mean, you are following me because you don't trust me, right?

We sill hesitated.

"I give you my word that I have no intention of hurting you or Fuu. There is no trap here, nor will there ever be. I am here to do what I said. I want to protect Fuu."

"Good enough for me," Mugen shrugged. "She tries anything funny, I'll kill her.

He stepped carefully across the stones and over to her. She didn't move in the slightest. I followed, and took a seat next to Mugen. I leaned against one of the four red pillars. Tsukiko didn't make a move to get up. She just kept her hands in the water. Maybe to make sure she seemed harmless. She looked very ethereal basking in the moonlight like that with her hair spread out everywhere. Some of it had fallen into the water and was floating of its own accord.

"So what do you want to know?" she asked suddenly. She wasn't in the least modest despite her position.

"What was that with the guy, just now?" Mugen inquired.

"I came to Osaka when I first got to Japan. I bought into a gambling ring to earn some more money. He begged for me to give him an extension, so I did. I told him that next time I was in Osaka he'd better have my money."

"How much was it?" I questioned. Maybe it was presumptuous, but I didn't care.

"Enough to cover our rooms for another two or three weeks, plus food, plus anything else we might need."

"Hell yeah, does that mean I can-" Mugen began.

"No, I am not paying for prostitutes. Use your own funds for that."

Mugen looked at me knowingly and I shrugged. He would probably spend the last of his money on a girl even if he was starving. I didn't totally disagree with her policy, we needed the money for other things. Then Mugen asked another good question.

"What was up with the bitch transformation? You're usually not so…"

"Intimidating," I finished for him. Tsukiko took a large breath and stretched herself out. She didn't answer, I had a feeling she wasn't going to. Her omission only made me want to know more.

"Has everything you've told us, been absolutely true? I will take your word of honor, but know that if you lie, and Mugen and I find out…we'll have to kill you." I stared at her, waiting for her reply. She had to look downward to see my face, an awkward angle. Her dark lashes hooded her eyes. Her expression was utterly serious.

"I swear to you that I have told you the truth about everything. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. I like you guys, I really do. I know I'm distant, but that's just how I am."

"There is _no way_ that you are more distant than this guy," Mugen chuckled, jabbing a thumb at me. I rolled my eyes.

Tsukiko sat up finally. She wrung her hair out gently and began to comb through it with her fingers. I watched as she carefully worked, paying attention to each knot she came across. Mugen and I weren't talking… we all sat in a comfortable silence. Finally she started to braid it. She was staring at her feet the whole time, but when no one was talking she looked up.

"What, have we all taken a vow of silence now?" she asked.

"I dunno," Mugen grumbled with a shrug. "I just ran out of shit to say."

As Tsukiko tied up the end of her braid we all froze. There were noises that should not be there. The occasional sound of a wooden geta on stone. The click of a sword being ready to be fully unsheathed. My earlier thoughts of this being a trap were coming back.

"We're surrounded," Tsukiko whispered, her lips barely moving. Her eyes were just a tad wider than usual, she didn't know anything about this. She reached into her clothes and pulled out the money she had gotten from the man in the alley. Careful not to make too much movement, she slid the small pouch of money into the water. Apparently she didn't think she'd be able to hold onto it. "Mugen…you need to get out of here and get Fuu. Jin and I will handle the distraction. Pack every thing up and hide at the nearest temple outside of town. Alright?"

"What? There is no way I'm backing down from a fight. We don't even know who these guys are," he hissed back.

"Mugen, Fuu needs you."

"How do I know that you aren't on their side and that when I leave you won't kill Jin?"

"Because I have both of you here now. If I was working for them then I could just have them do you in this second." She tied her mask on once more and stood up.

He looked at me, asking with his expression. I nodded once. Fuu needed him, in one way or another or maybe both, and Tsukiko needed me. Mugen got ready to go, crouching in position. I got to my feet, my hand on the hilt of my katana.

"What is the plan?" I asked her as we stared at things we couldn't see.

"Waste all the motherfuckers we can. Sound good?"

I had no problem with it. "If they are those piece of shit assassins from the government, I am going to be really mad."

"Too bad I can't stick around to find out," Mugen grumbled.

Please R&R!!!!!


	13. Vol 13 Ultimatum

(a/n: I just thought I'd throw this in. I do not own Samurai Champoo!!!! Though I do love it very much.)

Vol. 13 Ultimatum

-Jin-

Tsukiko and I stood facing the darkness. Whoever the men were, they hadn't moved in yet. Despite the fact that I was sure they outnumbered us, they were being cautious. Probably not your average cocky government lackeys. Tsukiko looked like she was calculating, maybe trying our odds against theirs. For the first time I found myself hoping that she was just as good a fighter as Mugen or I.

"How do you want to do this?" Mugen asked, waiting for his cue to go. He was still crouched behind us, making sure he was hidden from sight.

"I'm not sure," she mumbled. "Right now my weapons are across the water, so I'm totally unarmed."

Mugen and I both looked at her, shocked. "What?"

"I told you I wasn't lying," she shrugged. "I guess I can make a break for it and hope I get there before they do. Mugen, you use that as your distraction."

"Got it."

"This plan seems a little…flimsy," I thought aloud.

Tsukiko laughed quietly and shook her head. "Story of my life."

She ran across the stone steps quicky, her feet hardly touching before she was on the next. I went after her, ready to cut anyone down as she got her weapons. The men who had been hiding now cam out and closed in on us. Tsukiko pulled her katana out of its sheath and picked up her sai.

"Are you ready?" I asked her. She put her back up against mine.

"Always."

The men came at us and we began cutting them down. Blood sprayed as I sliced open one man's throat and ran my sword through another who was coming at me from the side. There were a lot of them. Twenty at the most. I didn't know if we could handle them all.

-Mugen-

I sat on the top of the wall and watched part of the fight. They were doin' alright. Jin was slicing and dicing like usual, and Tsuki was better than I had thought. She caught a blade in her sai and used her katana to cut him open. They were going to be okay, I could go without worrying. I needed to get Fuu's ass out of the rooms. Then we'd just have to wait for Jin and Tsukiko to get back. I dropped off the wall and ran back in the direction the we had come in.

-Jin-

The men started backing away from us. Their numbers were almost half of what they were before. They didn't look angry though, they looked like they had won. Tsuki was panting, a defiant look on her face. It reminded me of Mugen a little. We were coated in blood from head to toe. The man I took as their leader came out from under the shadow of a tree nearby. The men parted for him to walk through.

"You might as well surrender now," he said in a rough voice.

"That isn't an option," I said calmly.

The man smiled. He gestured to his men and they all pulled out guns. The sound of hammers being pulled back made me hold my breath. This was not good. Tsukiko's eyes darkened as she looked at me. We knew that we only had two options. One was that we could keep fighting and most likely get shot in the process. Two was that we give up and hope Mugen and Fuu would come and save us before they killed us. Neither sounded pleasant, so I was stuck.

"What are you thinking Jin?" Tsukiko questioned. Then to my dismay, all of the guns pointed to her.

"I know exactly how to solve this," the leader told us. "If you don't give up ronin, we'll shoot her. It'll be all _your_ fault."

I hesitated, but Tsukiko spoke up. "What makes you think that we're that good of friends? I just met him a few days ago."

The man took another step and grabbed one of his men's guns. He pointed it right at Tsukiko's head. Her jaw clenched, but she kept her glare up. He looked to me.

"Can you do it? Can you know that she died because of your pride?"

"It wouldn't be your fault Jin. This bastard is the one pulling the trigger," Tsukiko assured me. "Kill him."

"Don't. I'll blow her brains out of her skull."

"Do it Jin."

"I wouldn't."

This was getting very trying. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want Tsukiko to die, but I hated surrender. I looked into her blue eyes and did the only thing I could think of to preserve the both of us. I dropped my sword. Tsukiko sighed and closed her eyes tightly. Apparently she was disappointed in me.

"Good man," the leader chuckled. "Now you get to come with us."

One of the men hit me hard in the back of my head and everything went black.

-Fuu-

From my pleasant dream, I was woken up by a rough hand being pressed over my mouth. Frightened, I struggled. I flailed my arms and legs around until one of my feet connected with something.

"Shit!" I heard Mugen grunt. "You kicked me right in the nuts, you bitch!"

"Well what were you doing attacking me in my sleep like that jackass?" I gasped. I put one hand over my chest to feel my heart hammering in my chest. "You were being a pervert weren't you?"

"No," he growled. "Me, Jin, and Tsuki got attacked. They are back fighting them off, I was supposed to come here and get your boney ass to safety. Now I'm thinkin' that I'll leave you here."

"What?" I asked urgently. "Who attacked you?"

"We don't know, but there were a lot of them."

"Where are we supposed to go?"

Mugen stood and started getting stuff together. "We are going to the nearest temple outside of town. Then we're going to wait until Tsuki and Jin get back. Now shut up and get your shit, 'cause we gotta leave now."

I did what he said and started packing up the few things I had. Then I began to get Tsuki's things. I was worried, I hoped they were going to be okay. Mugen had said there were a lot of them, which meant that Jin and Tsuki would have the odds against them. I hoped Tsuki could handle herself. She must be able to, right? She volunteered to stay behind and fight, so she had to be tough. I picked up her necklace, a tiger's tooth that she said she had gotten right from a tiger. _"It was either me or it,"_ she had told me. She said it was her good luck charm. I put it over my head and let it fall into my kimono. She should have had it with her tonight.

Please R&R!!!!!


	14. Vol 14 Affliction & Emotions

Vol. 14 Affliction & Emotions

-Tsukiko-

My lashes fluttered open as I felt a throb of pain in the side of my face. It took a second for my brain to catch up to what my eyes were seeing. I must have been hit pretty hard. What met my eyes was a small room with a dirt floor and not much else. We were in some kind of prison. As soon as the word 'we' passed through my mind I looked around for Jin. The tightening in my chest relaxed when I recognized his familiar shape off to my left. The room was dark enough that I had a little trouble seeing, but I could pretty much make everything out.

I shifted uncomfortably as I felt the tingling in my arms. They were asleep, great. Not only that, they were tied together. I used my legs to hold myself up and passed my hands under my body and feet. There, now my hands were in front of me. Much more useful. I made my way over to Jin and tentatively tapped his leg.

"I'm awake," he said through the darkness. I let out a relieved sigh and sat in front of him. "You were asleep for a long time. You talked while you were dreaming."

"I do that sometimes," I nodded. "Come here."

"Why?"

"I'm going to untie you so that you can untie me." He straightened up and turned so that I could reach his hands. It was a little hard to work with, but I eventually got the ropes undone. He stared on mine and had them free in no time. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled tersely. I frowned. Why was he acting even colder than usual? It was probably because he was in a bad mood. Being imprisoned will do that to you.

"Do you have any kind of idea how long we've been in here?" I questioned, surveying the room dismally. There were no windows, only a door that was locked up tight.

"No."

"Has anyone come in?"

"No."

"What's up?" I asked, annoyed. There was only so much you could credit to a bad mood and a quiet personality. I mean come on, I was in here too and you didn't see me acting all icy. He just looked at me. His glasses were gone as were his swords and my weapons as well. He stayed silent and went back to staring at the opposite corner. I was about to say something else, something that involved some profanity and conveyed my anger, when the door opened. The man who had been the leader from the assault came in. The light that filled the room burned my eyes.

"Well, it looks like you two got out of your ropes. The next ropes we have you in you won't be able to get out of."

"You're going to tie us up again?" I asked.

"No," he laughed. "We're going to hang you."

My heart stopped. That was bad. A hanging was a little harder to escape from than bound hands. The man grinned at the look on my face, apparently he liked what he saw there.

"For now though, we're going to try and get some information out of you. You can just tell us what you know, or we can persuade you."

-Mugen-

"Damn!" I swore, slamming my fist on the railing of the walkway outside of our room in the temple. I had watched for Jin and Tsuki all night and they hadn't come back. It was like half way through the day now. Fuu came up and leaned on the rail next to me.

"Do you think they're okay, Mugen?" she asked in a small voice.

"If they were okay then they would have been back by now," I snapped at her. I went back into the room and laid on my bedroll. Those dumbasses, they better have not gotten caught. If I had to save them, I was going to be pissed. Fuu followed me in and sat next to me. She pulled out the necklace that I recognized as Tsuki's and squeezed it in her hand.

"They can't be dead right? I mean, they are really good fighters."

"I dunno." I watched as she squeezed the big tooth in her hand again. "What are you doing?"

"Tsuki said that this was good luck for her. I'm trying to wish on it so that they have good luck too."

It was stupid to think that the stupid necklace would help, but if it helped Fuu then I wasn't about to spoil it. I just kept lookin' at the ceiling, wondering what went wrong. They were goin' just fine when I left. Maybe more men had come. Maybe they were the police. I had too much shit runnin' through my head to do nothing. I had to find out what happened to them. I got up and slung my sword over my shoulder. Fuu watched me with her big brown eyes, almost full of tears.

"Mugen," she said softly.

"What?" I asked gruffly. It actually made me kinda sad to see Fuu like that, all hopeless and scared. She closed her eyes and turned her head away.

"Please come back."

Please R&R so I know what you think.


	15. Vol 15 Tracing the Tortured

**Vol. 15 Tracing the Tortured**

**-Mugen-**

Day two and still nothin'. No trace, no sign of Tsuki and Jin. I tracked down every lead that I could and I was left with nothin'. I was here at this bar because it was the last thing I had. Fuu made me take her with me because she didn't like us splitting up anymore. She told me that she had nearly lost us too many times and she wasn't about to let it happen again. She had been so mopey lately that I didn't have the heart to tell her she'd just be in my way. So we were sittin' next to each other, and she was talking up some guy. She was batting her eyelashes and flirting. I let her drink too much. Fuu wasn't the best at holding her sake.

"Yeah I'm a warrior," the man boasted. He put his chest out a little and had a big grin on his face.

"Really?" Fuu gushed. "I think warriors are dreamy." She swayed a little in her seat and giggled. My lip curled up. That was so wrong. "I think I've had too much. Hopefully I don't go home with a stranger tonight."

I arched a brow as the man's eyes got big. He was thinkin' that if he played his cards right, then Fuu would be willing to…Oh hell no. I asked her a hundred times to show _me_ the goods and she was too afraid then, but now she was about to go home with some stranger? My muscles tightened with anger while I listened to the rest.

"Yeah, I'm real important with the government." He looked around and bent down to talk to her. I turned away to make sure he didn't think I was listening. "In fact, I aided in the capture of two of the most important fugitives in the country last night."

"No," Fuu whispered, shocked. "Where did you catch them? Are they secure? I would hate for them to get out and harm me." She put one of her soft hands on the man's cracked and raw ones. The man's focus went right to it. He started to fidget in his seat. "I would have to get myself a big strong protector then."

The guy tried to hold back his eagerness. Fuu was pretty much askin' for it. I didn't get why, but I was gettin' information so I wasn't about to stop her. "Oh, don't you worry about that. We took them straight from the city gardens to a secure fortress below the city."

Fuu laughed. "You honestly don't expect me to believe that do you? An underground prison? I may be young and naïve-" she swayed again and gripped tighter on the man's hand to keep her steady. "- and a little drunk, but I am not stupid."

"What!?! I'm not lying, the entrance is in the garden itself! That's how we were able to sneak up on them so easy."

Fuu's jaw dropped. "Really? Well you must be a very brave man. It's getting late though, would you do me the honor of escorting me to my hotel?"

I scowled. Fuu was takin' him to _our_ room? The one that we didn't have anymore? That was it. I promised myself that I was never lettin' her drink ever again. I was going to say something but she grabbed the man's arm and started leading him outside, weaving and stumbling. What was that little bitch thinkin'? Fine, if she wanted to that bad, I'd let her go. It was her choice, it's not like I cared. I started tappin' my hands on the table, tryin' not to let my emotions get the better of me. She was gone for maybe five seconds before I went after her. I wasn't _that_ mean, I couldn't let her do this.

I went out and looked around, but I didn't see them. Where in the hell were they? I just started walkin', not sure what I should do now. I listened hard, waiting to hear Fuu's familiar voice or anything that woulda led me to her. As I passed by an alley I heard a noise. It was sort of a grunt. Damn! The guy hadn't even waited until he got her home! I ran into the dark to save her. I stopped dead when I finally found her. She had a block of wood in her hand and the man she left with was knocked out on the ground.

"Eww, what a slimeball," she said, disgusted. She threw the wood at him and dusted her hands off. Then she turned to me and put her hands on her hips. "Well, now we know where to go. Let's go find that stupid entrance."

I just sat there. What? "Weren't you just plastered a second ago?"

"No stupid. I was _pretending_ to be drunk. Men tell you a lot more when they don't think you'll remember in the morning."

Wow. Fuu was smarter than I gave her credit for. Not that I was ever going to tell her that…But it was somethin' that I wasn't going to get out of the guy with out spilling some blood. I looked at the guy on the ground as a small trickle of red liquid spread on the ground. Well, she had done it with less blood. And to be honest, I was relieved. I was glad she didn't do anything more stupid than this, like take the guy back somewhere. I mighta killed someone then.

Fuu grabbed my hand and led me out of the alley. "Now show me where this garden is so we can save those idiots."

"Fuu, that guy could have really hurt you or even raped you. You're lucky that worked." I was sorta confused by how my words come out. They sounded…caring. I shook it off and waited for her to talk.

She reached into the folds of her clothes and pulled out Tsuki's necklace.

"I guess she was right about this thing." She smiled and dropped it so that it fell back between her breasts. "It was nice that you were worried though."

**-Jin-**

It had been a long day. Actually, I wasn't sure just how long it had been. They separated Tsikiko and I, taking us to different rooms. They started asking questions about Mugen, Fuu, Ikitsuki Island, Kariya Kagetogi, and Tsukiko Hashinaka –who was apparently more of a criminal then she had let on-, and the things the three of us had done on our journey…I wouldn't speak, of course. I could never betray my friends, the ones I had said were the only ones I had. That is when the 'persuasion' part came in. They had used the full cycle on me; beating, crushing, stretching, and a few others. I could barely move because my body wouldn't allow it. It was worn and at it's end. It would take a while to heal these injuries.

Then they brought me back to this dark prison and left me. I had water and that was all. I just sat watching the shadows pass under the door and listening to their voices. Nothing was being absorbed, my thoughts were elsewhere. Tsukiko was not back yet. I wondered what they were doing to her. I immediately pushed it out of my mind as the possibilities made themselves perfectly clear. The things a group of men could do to a helpless woman were despicable. Again I blamed myself for the surrender. If I had listened to Tsukiko when she said to kill him then she wouldn't be where she was now. She may have been dead, but that might be better than this.

The door opened and two of the men threw Tsukiko's limp body inside. Another came in and set a tray of what I guessed was food and left. The door shut and again we were sealed in the darkness. Tsukiko stayed unmoving, her eyes closed, her hair blanketing her torso. Fear struck through me at that moment, white-hot and crippling. What if they had pushed her too far? What if she wasn't going to make it? Surely she couldn't be dead if they brought her back here, they would have disposed of her body. That thought sent a shiver through my shoulders. Maybe they had put her here just to show me that she was dead.

"Stubborn bitch," I heard one of the men telling the other. "She hardly even cried."

The silence closed in again, and I listed for any noise from Tsukiko. She wasn't breathing. I forced myself to move to her. She couldn't be dead could she? I crawled over to her, willing my muscles to work. They burned in protest so painfully that it made me gasp. I finally reached her though I wasn't sure I wanted to continue. She was on her stomach with her face turned away from me. The first few attempts at rolling her over were unsuccessful. My body was giving out from its day of torment. Finally I managed to turn her and a wave of nausea hit me. She looked dead. I bent and put my ear close to her partially opened mouth. She was breathing, but very shallowly. I checked her pulse…still strong. Her face was covered in blood, dried and fresh. I pulled the water close and ripped off a piece of cloth from my hakama that they had given me to replace my other clothes. I started to wipe away the layers of crimson, rust, and brown, scowling when I saw the black and blue bruise that had flourished down her delicate cheekbone. I touched it gently to gauge the swelling.

Suddenly she let out a sound that was something halfway between a sob and a gasp. Her hand shot up, gripping my wrist with an iron hold. It made me start. I expected her to be nearly dead but she moved so quickly that I had hardly seen her. Her eyes slowly opened, but only halfway at first. When she saw it was me, they got wider. Her eyes were glazed with tears, but none fell. She blinked furiously with her long dark lashes. She was holding them back, trying not to cry. I stared into the rich blue of her eyes, waiting…

"Jin," she breathed. Her grip didn't let up, if anything it got tighter. It was uncomfortable, but I didn't make any attempt to pry it off. If she needed something to anchor her, than I would be it.

"Are you alright?" I asked hoarsely. The torture had made me wear out my voice. I cleared my throat, but it only made the rawness worse. "What did they do to you?

She swallowed with what looked like great effort and shook her head ever so slightly. "Does it look like I'm okay?"

"Did they harm you?"

"If you're asking if they raped me, no. They said they were saving that for later." She struggled to sit up. Her hands that were in the dirt attempting to support her weight began to falter. I helped and she didn't protest. When she was satisfied that she wasn't going to fall, she looked over to me. "How are you doing so good?"

"I've been out longer than you." I grabbed one of the bowls of…soup? I handed it to Tsukiko. She grimaced at its contents but raised the bowl to her lips. She began to eat shakily. The broth was nearly spilling over the edges of the crude bowl each time she raised it. Her arms were too weak even to hold something as light as a bowl. "Let me help you."

"No," she said sternly, almost threateningly. "I have to do this on my own."

I smiled at her defiance. Her eyes were burning with rage as she stared, unseeing, at the wall across from her. She was mad at the ones who had done this to her. An odd possibility crossed my mind suddenly and my mood changed. Maybe her anger was towards me…Anger for letting her get taken to this place. Did she think it was my fault? It wasn't though, I had no choice. She shouldn't be angry with me when all I was doing was trying to preserve _her_. If that was the way she felt then she was not the person I thought.

"If you wish me to leave you alone, then I will," I informed her in a steady tone. Even to me it sounded cold.

She stopped, the bowl's rim touching her petal-colored bottom lip. An uncertain look filled her eyes as she lowered the bowl to her lap. "What's your problem?"

"I understand you blame me and are disappointed with my choice of action, I don't expect you to understand."

She sighed and set her bowl down. She started moving towards me, despite the agony on her face. I watched curiously until she settled in front of me. She took my own bowl from my hands and set it down.

"Is that what you think?" she asked softly. I turned away, but she put her hand on my face and gently turned it back so that I was forced to look at her. I didn't try to look away again. Her gaze held me. She stared intently at me and arched a brow. "What gave you the notion that I'm mad or disappointed with you?"

"Because I didn't kill that man when you said to, and now we're here," I explained. Did she not feel the way that I thought? "You think that all of this is my fault."

She laughed weakly. "Are those my thoughts or yours? Jin, you did what you thought was right. And we're both alive, right? So no harm done…by you. I think you are suffering from exhaustion. Stop beating yourself up, you've had enough of that today." She smiled warmly at the relief that washed over my face. "I just don't get how you'd think I could be disappointed in you."

She pressed my bowl back into my hands and reached for her own. Then she sat against the wall next to me, her left side pressed against my right, and started to eat again. When we were finished she leaned against me, her head falling on my shoulder. I didn't know what she was doing until her breathing evened. She was asleep. Her body gave me warmth from the cold that slowly crept in with the night. I adjusted so that I was a little more comfortable and tried to get some rest too. My head rested on the top of hers, my cheek pressing against her silky hair. I was happy when sleep began to tug on the edges of my consciousness. Lord knows I'd need it.

(a/n: Okay, that was the first new and improved chapter. I'm trying to take a little more time making the story better instead of spitting them out like crazy. So it will be more time between chapters, but I think that you guys might like it better. Please tell me what you think or if the story sounds any better. R&R. Thanks.)


	16. Vol 16 Deliverance from Darkness

(a/n: This one is a shorty, but a goody. Thanks to those reading and sending in reviews!!!)**  
**

**Vol. 16 Deliverance from Darkness**

**-Tsukiko-**

I woke slowly, as if I was coming out of a fog. I tried to sit up straight, wincing at the aching and stiffness. They had done more than a number on me yesterday. Jin slumped further onto me. I caught him and, with some effort, lowered him onto my lap gently. He had let me sleep on him, I could return the favor. He looked different with his hair down and his glasses off. It was more natural…no, that wasn't it. Candid was the word I was looking for. I didn't think he ever really looked like this, except on rare occasions. I smiled as I brushed a few black strands out of his eyes. I was still at a loss as to how he could have ever thought I was mad at him. How was I supposed to be angry at someone who had done nothing but be nice to me? Well, he did knock me out that first day, but I didn't count that one.

I looked around this room and decided that we had to get out today. I wasn't going to wait for them to fulfill their disturbing promise, I was going to take action. How could I get out of a sealed room though? I rubbed the back of my neck and began drumming my fingers along my spine. This was going to be tricky. The only answer was going to be attacking the guards when they came in next…in a weakened state…with no weapons…and an unknown amount of people out there. We were so screwed.

I looked back to the handsome and pale-skinned ronin sleeping in my lap. My thoughts began to change direction. I was starting to figure him out now, I think. He was a very self-afflicting person, very sad, and very reserved. Some things we had in common. I was getting attached to him, much like I had Fuu, and in some way Mugen. Stupidly, I found myself sort of glad that I had this time alone with Jin, despite what we had to go through. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him when we were all together. Not since the night when I had awoken to find him missing.

"If you plan on staring at me so intently, you can at least tell me why you are doing it," he said quietly, opening his eyes only a crack. I smiled, happy that he couldn't tell that I was blushing in this darkness. I didn't know that he had been awake. I was willing to bet it had been when he nearly fell off my shoulder. I was embarrassed by the fact that I had been a little too informal with him when I thought he was asleep.

"I was just thinking," I told him. It was the truth, I was just omitting some details.

"About what?"

"How to get out of here…I don't know if I can wait for Mugen and Fuu to save us. I can't stay here and let them do those things they said to me." I was worried about that, more than I let on to him. It was every girl's worst nightmare. I could live with pain, those wounds would heal. The others, the ones born from violation, would not.

Jin sat up. He gave me a determined look, so fierce that it threw me off. "Don't worry, we'll get out without any more harm."

"How?" I questioned. Had he thought of something that I hadn't?

"I don't know." Apparently not…

Just as I was about to reassure him, the door opened. Four men came in, probably to bring us back to the torture chambers. Jin and I started to get to our feet. We were both using the wall for support, it was the only solid thing we could find.

"Oh no, just the girl today," one of the men said. A shiver worked its way down my spine. I was officially terrified. I looked at Jin, helpless. He looked like he already had a plan. As they came to grab me, Jin did a move on one of them that I recognized as jujutsu. The man fell to the floor. Now that I knew the plan, I could go along. I twisted my arm out of one man's grip and punched the other in the throat. I did it hard enough to crush his windpipe. I didn't give a shit about him. As the other man came at me I ducked his arms and kicked him in the side of the knee. It buckled under his body. He started to scream so I did the only thing that I could think of. I took his own sword from his belt and plunged it through his heart. He silenced immediately. I hoped that no one had heard him.

Jin looked at me. Both of his opponents were lying motionless on the floor. "At least we have a weapon now."

"Damn, it looks like we missed some of the action," said a familiar voice from by the door. Mugen walked in and looked at the man at my feet. His double-edged katana dripped blood into the dirt floor. He had killed a few people…good. "We cleared this place out. Turns out that while they change shifts, they don't have many people here." Fuu came in and observed our bruises and other various injuries.

"Oh man, what did they do to you guys?" she asked. She was carrying our weapons and clothes. I grabbed my sword and sai. I felt better with their familiar weight in my hands.

"You don't wanna know," I told her. "Let's get the fuck out of here before anyone else comes."

"All I know is that you two better have a really good excuse for gettin' caught and wasting my time." I shook my head. Good thing to know that even his friend's torture could shake Mugen.

"Here," Fuu said as she reached into her clothes and pulled out my necklace. "I think that you need it more than me right now. I thought you should know though, it works."

"Told you so."

(Muah ha ha, they escaped. Sorry, I just had to get that out. Anywho, you know the drill, please, please, PLEASE R&R!)


	17. Vol 17 Sunshine Revelations

**Vol. 17 Sunshine Revelations**

**-Mugen-**

Two days later and those two were still limping and movin' all stiffly. I think they were milking it. They did walk all the way to the temple and then to the next village as soon as we had got them. Tsuki made sure we picked up our money on our way out of the gardens. We had walked almost all night and morning until we had come to a tiny fishing village. An old lady had offered for us to stay with her as long as we helped around the house. She lived on the edge of the village, it was like a minute's walk to the beach. When we weren't doin' chores or sleeping, we spent our time there. That was where we were sitting now, watching the waves beat onto the shore. It reminded me of home back in the Ryukyu's. I guess the world was givin' us a break for once, because it was actually warm today.

Me and Jin were sitting together on a driftwood log. We had been talking about what we were going to do now that we knew the government was after us still. We knew we weren't going to have an easy time with the Shogunate this time, not that it was a fuckin' picnic last time. But this time they had gotten two of us and almost off-ed them, that was too close. I went to ask Jin what he thought about where we should head next, but he was looking over at Fuu and Tsuki. They were sitting in the sand making necklaces out of shells. Tsuki was using Jin's old sharpening stone to file the shells into little squares and triangles. They were laughing and actin' like kids. It was better to see them like that then what they looked like on the night we went on our little rescue mission.

"What exactly are you lookin' at over there, huh four-eyes?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, slowly turning away and giving his attention to me.

"Well, they way you were starin', I don't believe you. Is it Tsuki or Fuu?"

"Mugen, why do you assume everything is about trying to sleep with women?" he asked, irritated.

So the truth came out. "I never said anything about sleeping with 'em. I just asked which one caught your eye. But now I know what you're really thinkin'."

He shook his head and stared back out to the ocean. He wasn't going to tell me who it was. Jin wasn't really the type. The last woman he had been into was Shino, and she wasn't an option for another two and a half years. So which one did he have the hotts for; our annoying little friend Fuu that we had grown to care for, or new hottie Tsukiko who was all mysterious and angsty?

"Hey guys!" Fuu called, running over to us. We looked up as she stopped. "Look at this new shell necklace. Tsuki taught me how to do it. What do you think?"

"Nice," we both mumbled. Jin glances out of the corner of his eyes over at Tsuki. So it was her, I shoulda known. I stood up and stretched. "I think that I'm going to go talk to the newest member of the dream team." Jin gave me a death stare from behind his glasses.

"Okay…" Fuu said suspiciously. "Just don't try anything. She's hurt, but she'll still kick your butt." Yeah right.

I ambled up to her. She didn't look up from her work. She just kept carefully filing the edges.

"You wanna talk?" I asked her. She shrugged so I sat down. She handed me the stone and a few pieces of shell. I looked at the stuff in my hands then to her.

"If we're going to talk you can at least make yourself useful."

I started rounding the edges on a white piece. "I used ta do this all the time when I was a little kid."

"I'll bet you were a little nightmare," she chuckled. "So was I. My father practically had a heart attack every week. One day it was jumping off the bridge into the river, the next it was trying to find new things to blow up with home-made gunpowder bombs."

"My parents weren't in the picture a lot." She glanced up, her eyes met mine. "So what happened with you and Jin in that prison cell?" Not exactly easing into the topic, but I wasn't an easing-in kind of guy.

"Nothing," she said a little to fast.

"Whatever dude."

"Why do you ask? Did Jin say something?"

She was nervous. Somethin' had happened, but what? I handed her the piece I had just finished and she started using a needle-thing to make a hole in the middle of it. I had to play it cool if I was goin' to find anything out. The breeze blew my hair as I thought of my next question.

"Why would he have said something if nothing happened?" I questioned coolly. Her eyebrows went up and a smile pulled at one corner of her mouth. She knew she had been caught, or she was thinkin' of an excuse.

"I think you are trying to trick me." She was on to me. She pushed her hair over her shoulder and went back to work.

"I was just tryin' to figure out if you secretly liked Jin or something. You two have been different since you got out of there."

"Me secretly liking Jin?..." She waited for a few seconds. "Sort of like how you secretly love Fuu?"

"What!?!" I cried. This I did not see that coming. She had turned this on me. Not only that, she was totally off. "Psh, yeah right. I can't stand that noisy little brat."

"_Yet_, you give her such special attention. Remember, Fuu and I talk a lot. I know all of your guys' stories. Between the name calling and the saving, how did you not expect me to see it? And to prove it, I'm half British and everybody knows that we are the masters of repressed emotion." She rolled her eyes. "Plus, you are totally obvious. You act like a little boy with a crush, always picking on her."

"You're fuckin' crazy!" I shouted, getting defensive. It made me sound guilty.

She had the biggest grin that I think I'd ever seen on her face. That bitch. That sneaky, ninja bitch. How in the hell did she do that? There was no way in hell that I loved Fuu. I cared about her. Just because I saved her all of the time and risked my life for hers on a semi-regular basis didn't mean nothin'. Yeah, nothin'.

"Mmm-hmm…." she hummed all doubtfully.

"You were just tryin' to change the subject. I had you cornered and you tried to get me," I pointed out. I thought I had won this time.

"Like you're doing now? Why can't you just admit it Mugen? You can't fight it." She picked up her stuff and got to her feet with a wince. Her bruised face was still healing. It was in the yellow around the edges stage. "There have been only three men that I have loved Mugen, and all of them are dead. My advice, get your girl while she's still there for you to chase."

She started back to Jin and Fuu. I just stared, so confused about what she had just done. She messed with my head. What in the hell was I supposed to do now? She wasn't going to say anything to Fuu and Jin was she? Uh oh. I got up and ran over to them, not wanting to miss anything she said.

(a/n: Next part takes place during Mugen and Tsukiko's conversation, comprende?)

**-Fuu-**

I watched Mugen sit down in the sand next to Tsuki. I wondered what he wanted to talk to her about. Jin was watching them carefully. I sat next to him, burying my feet in the warm grains of sand. I was sort of worried about Jin, he was being even more quiet than usual, if possible. Maybe they had done something really bad to him back there. I had to ask.

"Jin, are you okay?"

"Why do you ask?" he countered.

"Uh…well, you just seem…more withdrawn since you got out of that prison," I said unsurely. I didn't know how Jin was going to react. "I just wanted to know if you were alright or not."

"I'm fine."

"You're lying."

He didn't answer. He looked over to Tsuki and Mugen and the back to me. He was frowning slightly, making me sure that he was lying about him being fine. I had spent enough time with Jin to know his expressions. "I need to go somewhere Fuu, and I don't know if I can bring you three with me."

"What?" I questioned. Fear pulsed through me at the thought of us being broken up again. Did he magically forget what had just happened to him and Tsuki? What was so important that he couldn't take us along? "Where do you have to go?"

"I need to go see Shino."

(a/n: I wasn't sure if I should have gone this way until I thought of what I was going to write next. All I have to say is...get ready, this is going to get way more hectic. Sorry for the long wait, I haven't been feelin' so hot. I was a little better today, so I came and put up the next part. Please tell me what you think, that means R&R!!!)


	18. Vol 18 Splitting Decisions

(a/n: Okay, sorry for the wait, but I kept changing it around.)

**Vol. 18 Splitting Decisions**

**-Fuu-**

"You want to go all the way back to Kyoto?" I asked Jin.

Tsukiko came over to us and kneeled on the sand. "What's in Kyoto?" she asked.

"Shino," Mugen answered, catching up and sitting next to Tsuki. She gave him a questioning gaze. "The girl that Jin almost ran away with a while back."

For an instant I thought I saw a sad look pass over her face, but I must have imagined it. "So then we're going to Kyoto. When are we leaving?"

"_We_ are not going anywhere. I am going to Kyoto on my own," Jin told us sternly. He had his neutral expression on again, hiding whatever emotion he was feeling at the moment. I wondered what had caused this sudden need to go to see Shino. He knew it would be nearly impossible because no one in the safe house was aloud out or to see anyone for three years. Did he plan on sneaking in or something?

"Sorry dude," Mugen shook his head. "No more of this splitting up crap. We're goin' with you. You can go and see Shino by yourself, we'll stay out of your way."

"You are all making this very difficult for me," Jin mumbled stubbornly. Tsukiko gave him a reassuring pat on the leg.

"How about this, we'll go to Kyoto and get a room. Then you can go and see Shino and we will stay _completely_ out of your way. From there, you can make whatever choices or decisions you have to with her. We won't give you any grief about it either." She looked at Mugen and I. "Right?"

I felt my forehead crease involuntarily. I knew the decisions Tsuki was talking about were him leaving with Shino, and that scared me. I didn't want Jin to leave, but I did want him to be happy. I always knew we wouldn't all be together forever and that eventually we'd have to go our separate ways, I just didn't think it'd be this soon. Reluctantly I nodded.

"Whatever dude, it's your life," Mugen agreed.

"Are these terms acceptable?" Tsuki asked him. Jin sighed and looked down at her.

"I suppose."

"Then I guess we're leaving in the morning." Tsuki got up and dusted the sand off of her clothes once more. "I'm going to go and start getting things ready. I should go to the market before we go so that we have some food to eat while we're on the road." She started away, back towards the old woman's house.

"What's up with her lately?" I asked Jin and Mugen. They didn't answer, they just got up and started back as well. I growled, frustrated. These jerks never told me anything. After kicking the sand violently for a few minutes, I headed back to the woman's house.

**-Tsukiko-**

I lay awake for a long time, not able to fall asleep. It usually took me a while, but it had been hours since I laid down. It was a combination of trauma and having too much on my mind that was preventing me from sleep. Disgruntled at myself, I tossed my covers aside and sat up. The full moon cast its bright blue glow through the window making a column of light across the rough wood floor.

"Can't sleep?" I heard a voice ask me, making me jump. It was Fuu. I put a finger to my lips and shushed her, I didn't want to wake the boys up.

"Let's go for a walk," I suggested. She nodded. We both headed quietly for the door and outside. It was windy but still warm. When we were far enough away from the house I glanced over at Fuu. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Honestly, I'm afraid of us splitting up again," she admitted timidly. Sometimes I forgot how young Fuu really was. "It seems like every time we get back together, something tears us apart again. It's not that I don't want Jin and Shino to be together, it's that I don't want us to be apart."

"Mmm," I agreed thoughtfully.

Fuu giggled a little bit. I arched a brow in confusion as we approached the edge of the village. "You spent too much time with Jin, you're starting to sound like him."

"That's comforting," I grumbled sarcastically. "So this Shino…what's her story?"

"Oh, that's a good one. Let's sit and I'll tell you. Actually, do you feel like a swim?"

"Sure."

We stripped down and got into the water at the natural hot springs. It wasn't deep enough to really swim, but when I stood it went up to my chin. Steam curled off the water in lazy clouds. My hair started to get heavy and stick to my head. It was up, I didn't feel like washing it right this second. Finally when we were settled, I reminded Fuu about the Shino thing.

"So Shino…"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Here's the story…A while back, right near the beginning of our search for the sunflower samurai, we happened to travel through Kyoto. (a/n: I couldn't find out what city Shino was really in, so I made it up. Deal with it.) Jin was walking across this bridge and saw this woman looking down at the water. He figured she was going to jump off to commit suicide, but she denied it. Then Jin went to his part time job at a grilled eel stand, which he was horrible at. Then who else shows up but the mystery lady. She offered him a hand and I guess there were some sparks between them. When they were all done for the night Shino told him that she had to go work at a brothel the next night to pay off her husband's gambling debt. She started the next day and admitted that she really _was_ going to kill herself back on the bridge. So the next day Jin goes back to give Shino her umbrella and gets beat up by the bouncers there. Then he comes and gets all of our money that Mugen had won from beetle wrestling and went to go buy Shino for the night. While he was there I suppose they made a plan to escape and off they went. But right when they were leaving they were spotted. They got chased all over the city until they got to the harbor. Somehow he got Shino on a boat and sent her off to the safe house on the other side of the river. That's when Mugen and I caught up. After that it was the usual; killing, beating, general violence."

I sat there stunned. I had figured out by now that Shino was the woman Jin had told me he cared for, but this sounded like love. I had no idea that they had gone through so much with and for each other. They deserved to be together. My heart throbbed at the thought but I ignored it. I was being sentimental, probably reminded of my own dead love. I missed him, so much that I wouldn't even let myself think his name. I frowned, and cleared my mind. Fuu was staring at the sky.

"Do you think that I will ever get myself a guy who cares about me like Jin cares about Shino?" she asked, a slight hint of wonderment to her voice.

I immediately thought about the conversation Mugen and I had earlier. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you will. Maybe sooner than you think."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh…You know, you're getting older and you are pretty," I said, quickly searching for a cover-up. "Guys will be crawling all over you soon, even more than before."

"You think?" she pressed, excited. I nodded. We sat quietly for a second before she thought of something else to talk about. I wished she would have brought up any other subject than this. "So what about you? What's your love history like?"

"Painful," I told her tersely.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay. I just have a hard time talking about it sometimes. There was a guy once, he was the best. Carefree, wild, adventurous…We were best friends and then eventually it turned into love. Then he died and that was the end of it."

"That's so sad," Fuu whispered.

I patted her arm. "Don't feel sorry for me. I'm used to death now. He's an old friend of mine." she smiled wryly. "So what about you? Anyone special you've met?"

"There were a few guys who have been interested in me, and a couple who were cute. None of them worked out though, not like I had the time to have a boyfriend. That was right in the middle of our search."

"How about now? I mean, you have spent a lot of time with Jin and Mugen, I'm surprised you don't like one of them."

"I don't really know…"

"Ooh, I think I've hit something here," I chuckled. "You have to tell me now."

"You have to swear, swear, _swear_ that you won't say a word about this to anyone," she warned.

"I swear on my life."

She looked around and beckoned me closer. I leaned in, nearly desperate to hear what she had to say. "I sort of have this thing, and I have the impression that he has this thing too."

"Thing?" I questioned. "Who has a thing?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's-"

"What are you guys doing?" Mugen asked, interrupting Fuu and scaring the crap out of us both. "Hey, don't stop on my account. Whatever you two were doing was hott."

"Jeeze Mugen, can't you stop being a jackass for five minutes?" Fuu growled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I agree," said a more quiet voice. It was Jin.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

"We woke up and you two were gone. We thought you two idiots got captured _again_," Mugen said. He started pulling his clothes off. "So we came lookin'. I'm a lot happier that we found you here though. Less work and less clothes."

I shook me head. "Pervert."

He hopped into the water and settled down among the mist. "Yeah, yeah. We all know. You getting in Jin?"

"I suppose if I don't then you all will think me a prude," he sighed.

"Well, we don't have that much time left together…that is, if you go with Shino. It's fine if you choose that though." Fuu was babbling. I had to help her.

"I think what Fuu is trying to say, is that we all want you to choose what you feel is right. However, we would like to spend some time with you just in case you and Shino do make the decision to go your own way," I explained calmly. Inside felt a little more hectic. It was like a subtle franticness mixed with the numbness of depression. I wasn't sure why I felt like that, but maybe it was because they were the only friends that I had since my family had died and one of them might already be leaving. I convinced myself of that fact a couple of times, not letting any other possibilities come to light in my consciousness.

"If I can say, I don't see why you need to go all of the sudden," Fuu began. "I understand that you must miss her, but why the rush?"

"I have my reasons," Jin said, sliding further into the water. It was like he was trying to hide. From us? The questions? Or maybe the truth?

(a/n: That's the end, not THE END...but you know. So what I wanted to say was that this will be the only chapter for the next week or so, I'm going on hiatus. I'm not getting many reviews, except from a few loyal readers (you know who you are, and thank you! I love you guys.) so please, please, PLEASE review! It would mean a lot. You see what you have done to me? You've reduced me to begging...it's disgusting. Please just kill me now...)


	19. Vol 19 Rainy Day Revival

(a/n: I couldn't wait to post this, I'm still on my little vacation. Everyone say hi to my cousin, a fellow fanfic addict. Not much else to say but enjoy and thanks for reading!!!)

**Vol. 19 Rainy Day Revival**

**-Fuu-**

"Mugen, why do you think that Jin needs to see Shino?" I asked as we trudged along through the cold. Thunder rumbled overhead, the dark grey clouds threatening to empty on us. The day at the beach was the last sunny one we'd had. It had been almost a week, and there was no improvement to Jin's attitude; if anything it was getting worse. Tsuki had also started to separate herself from the group, proven true by the fact that she was now trailing a good twenty feet behind us.

"Are you really that stupid?" he questioned quietly. I glared up at him. "Jin feels guilty because he's getting' the hotts for Tsuki, and he feels like he's two-timin' Shino."

"I guess that makes sense…" I thought aloud. "But why is she acting funny too? Don't tell me she had feelings for Jin back!"

"Shut up dumbass!" he growled, looking around. Finally, he laced his fingers together behind his head and shifted his eyes to me again. "She says she doesn't, but I think she's full of shit. I'll bet she feels like a bitch for gettin between them."

"No wonder she was asking about Shino so much," I mused. It was all starting to come together now. I couldn't believe I didn't see it before.

"Don't open your big mouth about this either, ya hear me? It's their problem not ours," he added in warning. I did like to meddle a lot, but it usually-sometimes came out okay. Maybe if I just told both of them how the other felt…Tsuki's life was so sad, wouldn't a boyfriend make her feel better? And how could Jin make the right choice when he didn't have all of the angles? _'What I'm doing is for the best,'_ I told myself.

"Don't even think about it," Mugen grumbled. "What did I just tell you?"

"What?" I asked; the picture of innocence. He didn't buy it.

"I know that look. It's your 'I'm about to get into some shit that ain't my business' look."

"Honestly Mugen, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Bullshit," he laughed, clearly entertained by my poor acting skills. "I'm keeping my eye on you."

"Make sure that's _all_ you keep on me," I shot back jokingly. His eyes widened a bit, he looked a little surprised.

"That was sorta dirty. I think that some of me is rubbing off on you."

"Then, also much like you, I am in desperate need of a bath."

Still gaping and confused, I left Mugen and moved ahead, quickening my pace to catch up with Jin's slender form. Because he had such long legs, it was hard to keep pace with him. Usually he would slow down for me, but not today. He didn't even acknowledge my presence when I said hello.

I pursed my lips, trying to think of something else to say. "So, are you getting tired?"

"No."

I searched my mind again.

"Well, it's about to start raining, and I think we're all beat."

"Very well, where do you propose we take shelter?" he questioned, finally stopping. I was caught off guard by this so that I had to force my legs to stop moving from their rapid pace. He looked colder than usual, his dark eyes distant as I'd ever seen them. I surveyed the landscape, realizing only now that we were in the middle of nowhere. Oh.

"Maybe we could…sort of…build something?" I suggested weakly.

"You can try," Mugen said, catching up with the two of us standing in the middle of the road. "I don't mind sleeping in the rain."

I looked for Tsukiko and found that she had stopped on the path a ways back. Probably when Jin and I had stopped. She was standing like a stone, still despite the wind that blew furiously at her back. It looked like it was trying to push her over or break her, but she refused to move. I sighed and turned back to Jin who had also been staring at her. His eyes held just the slightest bit of guilt. For once I admitted to myself that Mugen had been right. How could he tell what those two were feeling before I could? He was supposed to be an insensitive jackass. Scary.

"So what do you suggest?" Jin asked, rewording his earlier query.

"I guess we should just find some trees to sleep under…" I groaned, depressed by the thought. Jin nodded and headed for the cover of the nearby woods as the first drops of the storm spotted the dirt. Mugen rose and eyebrow and scratched his head, further messing his scraggly hair. With a look I didn't understand, he brushed roughly past me and disappeared into the darkness where Jin had.

**-Tsukiko-**

I picked a piece of bark off of the fairly straight branch I had found, cleaning it off completely. I took out my knife and began shaving it down. I was almost out of arrows and it would be a while before we reached any kind of armory where I could buy some. The green wood fell into little curls on my lap as I kept at it. I was in no way a proficient arrow-maker, but I could make due with some homemade ones.

The wind howled as it cut its way through the openings between trees. The leaves rustled…no, they crunched. Someone was coming up behind me.

"Jin," I said, not asking. I was ninety percent sure I was right.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Well, you're the one who came to me. What do you want?"

He emerged from behind the tree I was sitting under, damp from the rain. He didn't sit, he didn't make himself more comfortable, he didn't plan to stay long. He was staring out into the forest, his eyes searching the darkness. "I thought I might check on you. You didn't join us for dinner."

"You think that'd be a good idea?" I asked, only letting a little anger into my voice. Was I mad? Yes, but what could I do about it?

"You have to understand that I am not good with things like this." Jin sounded like he was asking for understanding. I would give it to him, but admit it, I would not.

"I get it."

"Do you?"

I nodded.

"Then explain it to me, because I haven't the slightest clue of what to do."

**-Fuu-**

I shivered violently, my body chilled to the bone. I had woken up in the pitch black night with everyone gone. I had thought that everyone had left me, which would be just like those asses, until I heard a familiar loud and obnoxious snoring. The clouds broke, momentarily letting the blue glow of moonlight through. I used to opportunity to go and find someone. As I slipped around in the wet undergrowth, the snoring got louder. My teeth chattered uncontrollably and I hugged my chest to try and keep warm. Then I found him.

Mugen was sleeping under a makeshift lean-to. He was completely dry and sleeping quite comfortably. Lying bastard. I specifically remembered something about him saying he didn't mind rain, and building shelters was stupid. The dark began to press in again as a cloud drifted over my only light source. There was no way I was going to find Jin or Tsuki, so I did the only thing that I could think of. I slid in carefully beside Mugen and huddled on the opposite side. When I was a little warmer, and a little more at ease, I stretched out. A hand reached out and rested firmly…on my butt.

"Mugen!" I screeched, slapping it away viciously. His eyes opened halfway for about a second and he muttered something that sounded like "sorry". Then, closing them again, he placed his hand right back where it was.

"I said quit it!" I yelled. This time he woke up.

"Then what the hell are you doing in here!?!"

"I was cold you jerk. I thought that maybe, for once you could avoid being a pervert!"

"Like I'd want anything to do with your flat-chested, little girl body!" he scoffed, trying to insult me.

"Well tell that to my butt!" I shouted. "You seemed to be really friendly with it a second ago."

"It was a reflex!"

"Yeah right Mugen."

"Will you shut your freakin' mouth if I let you stay? God damn, I want to get some sleep!" He said the last few words with an angry yawn.

"Whatever, just keep your grimy hands on _your_ side, got it?"

He turned over, showing me his back. He grumbled furiously for a few seconds, unintelligibly. All I caught were the words "it's _my_ fuckin' shelter".

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and then closed them, happy to have a decent place to rest. A cold wind blew right through, winding its way between our bodies. I shivered, the small hairs at the back of my neck standing up. Ready to take whatever criticism or teasing I was about to get, I scooted over and snuggled against Mugen's warm body. Maybe he was already asleep or maybe he was actually being nice for once, but he didn't say anything.

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(a/n: You know how much I love it when you guys reveiw, so do it. It takes like five seconds. If you don't, I'll just sick Mugen on you. And no fangirls, it won't be in the sexy way...)


	20. Vol 20 Desired Destination

(a/n: Well my pretties it has been a while, has it not? I'm terribly sorry about that. The reasons…will remain a mystery. I know that to give no explanation for this is cruel, but that's life is and how this particular cookie crumbles it. I am back now though, in full swing I might add, and am ready to further attempt to enthrall you with my thoughts and interpretations and tales. Thank all of you who actually come back to read and for all of the encouraging reviews. Not to sound like a bad awards show cliché, but I thank all of the fans.)

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**Vol. 20 Desired Destinations **

**-Fuu-**

This was it. We had reached Kyoto in just a few more days. I was living at the highest tension level I thought possible without going insane. But when I looked at Jin, I knew what I was feeling was nothing. With each step we took on the still-moist dirt road his tension grew, threatening to crash over us like the most uncaring and destructive wave. Even Mugen stayed quiet, keeping his unhelpful comments and negative musings to himself.

We stood at the city gates, just on the outside. It was as if all of us were afraid of the uncertainties that lay inside. It was Tsukiko that took that first step, not tentatively, but boldly as if she were trying to prove something.

"I guess we go to the hotel first, get settled, then wait for you to find Shino, Jin," she said, the careful command in her voice most likely betraying her feelings.

"Agreed," Jin said with one of his trademark reserved nods.

And then suddenly they were off, like soldiers on a mission. Mugen and I were left blinking in the dust.

"Oh yeah, this is going to be fun," he grumbled. With a great and heaving sigh he started after them.

Slouching, I followed.

**Later……….**

Jin had gone out the door as soon as he had set some of his things down. Tsuki. paid no attention –or at least pretended to- and went about fixing some dinner for the three of us. Usually Mugen would be out hitting the red light district too, but I think that he knew what was going on was more important…that, and the fact that he had no money and was too much of a scaredy-cat to ask Tsuki.

"Really, you haven't sat down since we got here. Why don't you relax?" I asked the long haired woman.

"I would rather cook."

"That's fine with me," Mugen said happily as he lounged against one of the cushions. I shot him a corrosive look. He shrugged and closed his eyes lazily again.

Tsukiko set a dish in front of us and we both leaned in to grab some. We paused, still staring into the dish.

"What the hell is this crap?" Mugen demanded, his finger drawing closer to one of the odd little pillow-like things. Tsuki swatted his hand.

"It's a European dish. It's called ravioli. It isn't the exact recipe as we make it back home, but I made the best of the ingredients I could find."

"Rava-what-ey?" I asked.

"_Ra-vi-o-lli_."

"Whatever, can I taste it?" Mugen asked. Tsuki nodded.

He dug his chopsticks in and put the whole thing in his mouth. He chewed for a minute and then swallowed. He went for another.

"Is it good?" she asked.

His answer was cramming another three in his face. Hurriedly I took some in a bowl before Mugen ate them all.

"Whoa," I moaned as I chewed. It was delicious!

Tsuki laughed. "Well I'm glad you like it, I made plenty. I know how much all of you freaks eat."

"Is all food in Europe like this?" I wondered aloud.

"Sometimes, but there is a lot of better things than this."

Mugen and I stared wide-eyed at her. "If we ever go to Europe, I'm going to get really, really fat."

"What's the difference? You do that here too." Mugen scoffed.

"_Hey_!"

**-Jin-**

It had taken me longer than I had anticipated finding the reform house that Shino was supposed to be staying at. I stood at the front door taking careful breaths. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew that I had to see Shino before I took any further steps. I raised a hand to knock on the door.

"Jin?" a surprised and disbelieving voice asked from behind me.

I turned, my hand still up.

"Shino."

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(a/n: Ha, ha, ha. Cliff hanger. Between this and the seeming abandonment over the last two months you all must hate me. But alas, you will have to be patient for the next installment. It isn't so bad, patience is supposed to be a virtue, but I find little use for it. In the mean time, please do the whole R&R ordeal even if I may not deserve it so I know how ya feel. sigh It's good to be back.)


	21. Vol 21 Disclosure, Distractiion,

(a/n: I just have to say this before I get started. Thank you (sincerely) for everyone who came back to read and left comments. Even though I left for a while you guys came right back and weren't even mad. : D . So for you guys, I am posting an over-crazed and emotionally exhausting chapter dedicated to you. Aw….)

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**Vol. 21 Disclosure, Distraction, and the Dramatic**

**-Jin-**

"Shino," I repeated in disbelief.

Her delicate face stared back in shock. She looked exactly as I remembered; no, better. She had more light in her eyes. The worry that had once made her face sorrowful was gone. She looked radiant. She had the umbrella that she had once left at the little eel stand with her. The very same umbrella that I had so determinedly returned to her. It was open, I assumed to shade her from the sprinkling rain. She held it out in front of her carefully.

I was puzzled, she did not look entirely happy to see me. I decided to articulate the thought.

"You don't seem pleased by my presence."

A frown creased the skin between her brows. After another moment she shook her head. "It's not that…I just…I'm not allowed to have visitors."

I took a tentative step forward and she moved back. My turn to frown.

"Jin, there's some thing that I should probably tell you."

**-Mugen-**

"So whaddya wanna do now?" I asked Tsuki. She had been draggin' me along all day to one place after another. It's not like I really minded, she bought me a lot of stuff. Fuu apparently couldn't hack it with all of this emotional crap and had gone to get a job for fun. Screw that. _I_ could ignore the emotional crap and focus on the good side: free shit. And maybe, just maybe, if I played my cards right I could get Tsuki to get me a girl.

"I don't know," she sighed. We had outrun it as long as we could and now it was catching up with her. "I'm out of ideas."

"Well," I began in my most persuasive and cool voice.

"No hookers. I veto the brothel idea," she said before I could finish.

"Damn." I thought again for a few seconds. "I got another one."

She looked up at me hopefully.

"Let's get drunk."

She actually laughed at that one. "You know what? That is the best offer I've heard in months."

We kept goin' down the street until we found a bar. Tsuki pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the dark and smoke filled place. Heads turned to look at us. Some of the guys who thought they were badass sized me up and then checked her out. Maybe they thought that we were together. I wondered if one of 'em might try to steal her from me anyway. It's not like I cared, but it would be the principle of the thing. If one of them hit on her, I'd kick their ass. Just to liven it up. I needed a good fight.

Tsuki inhaled the stale smoke. It looked like it cheered her up. We sat at the only empty table. There were some working girls in here, all over the guys who were payin' or who they thought eventually would. A few eyed me and then turned away. Probably jealous of Tsuki. Most girls wanted me, they were always all over me. It was exhausting.

A lady came up to the table to take our order. She had some wrinkles, but wasn't over forty five. She might have been pretty hott once. My eyes slid down from her face. Still had a nice set though…

"What'll you two love birds have?" she asked. She was smiling real wide, like she really was happy that we were a couple. Tsuki was about to burst her bubble but I leaned over and put my arm around her. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, but she played along.

"A bottle of sake for my fiancé and I," she told the woman. The waitress sighed like she was remembering what it was like when she was getting guys and walked off.

"Fiance, huh?" I asked. "I know you thought I was sexy, but I didn't know ya wanted to marry me. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to get in line behind all the other women. Chicks always want a ride on the Mugen train."

She gave me a mocking look. "_Oh, I'm sure_."

"You know it's true," I teased.

"Yeah, and in a few hundred years people will be walking on the moon." (a/n: Mind you this is the Edo period in Japan.)

"It could happen," I protested.

"Right…."

The woman came back and set down two small sake dishes and poured some in from the bottle. Then she nodded, set the bottle back down and left. Tsuki and I picked up the dishes; me carelessly in one hand so the liquid almost spilled out, and Tsuki carefully with the fingertips of both hands. We looked at each other.

"Cheers," we said together.

**-Fuu-**

I wanted a job. Anything to get my mind off what was going on. The thing with Tsukiko and Jin was too much. And Mugen…it was good to get away from him sometimes.

So here I was in the market selling something I knew little to nothing about: fish. The old couple that owned the place were great. They both looked like they were approaching their 120's and were very different from one another. The old woman was sever and ill-tempered, and the man was sweet natured and kind. It was he that hired me –on the spot- and taught me how to sell them, the fish that is.

"You can haggle with the customers, we overprice a little so that when we agree to a lower price they think they are getting a deal," the woman told me smugly. Apparently she thought she was smart. I thought she was a crook. "If you drop a fish, it is ruined and must be tossed out. That will be taken from your pay. Do you understand?"

I was working for too little money to take this crap, but I nodded. This was supposed to be for fun. _Woohoo_.

"I will be in the house cleaning more stock. I want you to sell at least twenty fish before I get back, or you're fired."

What? Could she do that? She left before I could say a thing. I looked helplessly at her little old husband perched on his stool with his hands folded over the head of his cane. He was supervising. He smiled, one tooth was missing, and gave me an encouraging wink. At least _he_ believed in me.

**A tad bit later……….**

I was doing fairly well at my new fish peddling job. I had sold double my quota by the time the woman came back. She had told me that I might be worth keeping around after all.

"So where do you hail from?" the old man questioned when things began to wind down a little.

"I'm sort of an orphan. I have been traveling for a long time."

"Alone?"

"No." I did a half-smile, half-grimace. "I have three friends. At first it was just the two guys and me, then a girl came along. Now it's the four of us."

He tilted his head curiously. "Are you having troubles with them?"

"Yeah, but I don't really want to talk about it. It's why I got this job really, to get away from it all."

The man nodded to someone behind me. I turned to the customer. My mouth dropped open a little. There was a guy at the counter and he was totally gorgeous. I stepped up and began talking rapidly like most girls do when they are nervous.

"Uh, hi. What can I get you? We have a great selection of fish –unless you don't like fish, which is fine of course. The eels and squid are really fresh. Don't you think squids are kinda funny looking? I mean, why do they have so many legs?"

I stopped babbling right about there. I felt completely idiotic. This guy probably thought I was a nut. The old man behind me was trying to cover a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. The guy smiled at me. Dazzling.

"I'll take some squid and the rock crab, thank you." I just nodded, refusing to let myself talk for fear of saying anything else embarrassing. "I haven't ever seen you here before, are you new in town?" I nodded. "I'm Kazu."

"Oh, uh. I'm Fuu," I said awkwardly as I wrapped up his order.

"Fuu, what an interesting name." I handed him the bundle and he handed me the money. "I'll see you around Fuu, I hope."

With another mind-fogging smile he was gone. I turned to the old man who was full-on laughing now. I waited patiently for him to stop.

"_Smooth_," he cackled.

"I was caught off guard!" I argued. "If I was on my game, it would have gone better."

"I should probably tell you then," he sighed. "The young master Kazu is a monk."

"So?" I asked, unsure of what this meant.

"So, he's not allowed to have a woman…" My face fell. "Ever."

Damn, just when you meet a cute guy who seems interesting. I was going to end up an old spinster. Nope, no husband for Fuu. Not that I wanted to be married right at the moment, but an offer from someone other than a creep would be nice.

"Why do all of the cute ones have to be unavailable!?!" I cursed, more to the heavens than anyone else. I think I actually shook my fist at the sky.

The old man got off the stool with a creak and hobbled over to me. He peered into the sky where I was looking. "If you're listening, please take my wife before me!"

My shoulders slouched and I just shook my head.

**-Jin-**

"What?" I asked eagerly. I didn't know or care if this news was bad or good, I was just happy to see her.

A light turned on and she grabbed my sleeve and pulled me into the dark cover of some trees. The door opened and a head peeked out. After whoever it was was satisfied that no one was trespassing, they returned inside. Shino looked up at me. Most of her face was shadowed, but I could see enough of it to know she was worried. She still clutched the open umbrella close to her body, a paper and dowel barrier between us.

"What is it?" I demanded this time, though I said it gently. "Are they mistreating you in this place?"

She shook her head and looked down.

"You don't have to protect them if they are. We could still escape together, if you would want."

She was crying now; golden streams catching the setting sun's last light, sliding down her powdered skin.

"Jin," she finally managed to whisper.

I carefully gripped her shoulders to steady her. "Yes?"

She said nothing, but let the umbrella fall to the ground. I stared. I could do nothing else. Her eyes searched my face to gage my reaction to this surprise.

"You're pregnant." An obvious statement seeing that her stomach had grown to the size of a large melon. She nodded. This small action seemed to bring me back to what little sense I had left. I knew what had happened. I had left and she had found someone else. I had considered this a possibility when I left, but seeing and living it was much more distressing…or relieving perhaps… "I am sorry I have intruded then. I hope I have not caused too much grief by my unexpected arrival."

I turned to go but she caught my sleeve.

"Jin, no. Don't you understand?" I shook my head. "It might be yours."

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(a/n: _Imagines all of the reader's faces to that last little line of dialog._ He, he, he. Honestly, how many of you saw _that _one coming? Now, I know some of you want to kill me right now -or at the very least put me in critical condition- but I urge you to read on. there is still so much fun (for me at least) to come. Please R&R, just don't try to murder me via the net. I thank you very much.


	22. Vol 22 Should'a, Would'a, Could'a

(a/n: Okay, here's the deal. Some of you will be happy with what happens in this chapter, some of you will be mislead and confused, and some of you will be extremely pissed. Whichever it may be, all I have to say is...oh well.)  
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**Vol. 22 Should'a, Would'a, Could'a**

**-Jin-**

I blinked. Surely Shino had not just said what I thought she had. Her face was utterly serious. The thought repeated itself through my mind. The child might be mine…_might_. I had never thought that I would be able to settle down and have children with a woman I loved; but now that I was faced with the possibility, I wasn't sure of what to do or if I was prepared.

"Did you ever plan on telling me?" was what I finally settled on saying. That was how I felt. Would she have just raised the child on her own and never given me the opportunity to know it?

She shook her head, looking guilty and shamed. Was that how she viewed having my child, shame? "I didn't want to bother you…"

"Bother me?" I repeated.

"Yes. You were on your journey with the rogue and that girl, how was I supposed to take you from that?"

I sighed. "If I was ready to go with you then, why would you think…"

"So are you saying that you regret us not going, would you rather have left them…your friends?" She was staring defiantly at me, already knowing the answer. She was just helping me come to the conclusion.

"If I had to pick between having gone with you and finishing my journey: yes, I would pick them. But I always planned on coming back for you."

She put her hands on either side of my face, and stared into my eyes. Maybe she was looking for some answer, searching for a picture of the memories I had acquired since I left her. She found what she was looking for.

"So what is it that is distracting you? Why do you look afraid?"

"I'm not afraid." On the inside, my head was going at a million miles an hour. It was true, I was not afraid. It was just a lot for the mind to sort through.

I did not want to admit it, but I knew what she saw in my eyes. Tsukiko. I did not think I loved her, but I could not forget her. Shino I did love, as much as I could love someone. So why was I dreading telling her all of this? I tried looking at it from the practical side. I loved Shino, I didn't love Tsuki. Easy right? Wrong.

"You look as if you are fighting a fierce battle of thought Jin," she said to me. "Whatever it is, you take some time to think about it. I will be here…whatever you decide."

With that she gave me a light kiss on the lips and left. I watched her go to the house and glance back before she shut the door. I swallowed and then sighed. This was going terribly, terribly wrong.

**-Fuu-**

The door slammed open and Mugen fell, face first, inside. He groaned and wild laughter followed him. Tsuki stumbled in, gripping the frame of the door for support. Her cheeks were a deep rose color. They were both drunk.

Mugen turned over slowly and smiled. "That was fun."

Tsuki nodded fervently and looked around the room. Then she turned back to me.

"Do you know what time it is?" I scolded them both.

"Late?" Tsuki guessed. They both started cracking up and I rolled my eyes. Tsuki sat right where she was, half inside and half outside the doorway.

"Have either of you two seen Jin? He hasn't come home since going to-" I paused, not wanting to bring this up again. "-out."

"_Who cares_?" Tsuki scoffed with an exaggerated hand gesture.

Mugen raised up a hand and pointed his index finger towards the ceiling. He wanted to know where Jin was? Was he actually saying he was worried? "I second that."

Nope.

"I think that I am going to bed," she announced. "Mugen, get out."

He sat up suddenly. "Wait!"

Tsuki and I both jumped at the unexpected cry. "What?" we said in unison.

"I want to talk to Fuu."

Tsuki's eyes went wide and she started shaking her head furiously. "Bad idea Mugen. Why don't you talk to her in the morning?"

"'Cuz I wanna do it now. Just go to our room and we can switch when I'm done." He stood and started pushing her out into the hallway gently. She was resisting, whispering at him violently. He was growling right back. Personally, I didn't care about being around Mugen when he was drunk. I was used to it by now. But he had said he wanted to talk, what did that mean?

"Fine!" Tsuki finally snapped at him harshly. "Do what you want, but don't say I didn't try to stop you!"

"Whatever, now get out bitch."

"Ass."

"Loser."

"Dick." They smiled at each other. "Night Mugen. Don't do anything more stupid than usual, 'kay?"

She gave me a here-it-comes look and shut the door sharply. I was left with a forehead creased with curiosity and worry and an intoxicated pervert. He turned to me slowly, his eyes half closed. Oh no…

"So did you guys have fun tonight?" I asked, making myself busy with cleaning up the modest meal I had eaten alone that night. I kept washing for a moment in the basin for dishes, scrubbing rather hard. I glanced over when he didn't say anything. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed….just looking at me.

"Uh, Mugen?" I asked tentatively.

"I don't want to talk about that," he slurred, waving it away.

"W-what did you want to talk about?"

"Me, and you…you know, _us_." He was totally serious, I think. I didn't know whether to laugh or say something back. I settled on waiting. "So?"

"So what?" I asked, getting a little frustrated. He shrugged. He was either trying to be cute or cool. I let out a long noncommittal sigh and went back to the dishes.

A moment later his hand latched onto my wrist. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me towards him. He was staring down at me with an emotion in his eyes that I had not seen before.

"M-Mugen…" I gasped. He leaned in.

"I wanted to tell you…" he lead off, his eyes growing distant.

"Tell me what?" I questioned, my heart racing.

"Tell you…" He did a long blink and swayed a bit. He was going to pass out. I grabbed onto him and gave him a forceful shake.

"Tell me what?!" I demanded desperately.

"Tell-" He fell to the floor with a crash. I bent down to see if he was alright and was met by a loud snore. My jaw clenched. I kicked him lightly in the side and he rolled over.

"Jerk."

**-Jin-**

I quietly went into the room at the inn, not sure if Mugen would still be up. Fuu and Tsuki were asleep, the candles in their room were out. I slid the door shut almost without noise. I turned and immediately found myself annoyed.

Mugen was asleep on my carefully made bedroll. That inconsiderate ass. His head was covered with _my_ blanket…_my blanket_. I was not in the mood for this tonight. I went over and ripped the covers off of him. Instead of Mugen's displeasing form, I was met by the last person I should have seen at that moment; Tsukiko.

Her lashes fluttered as she fought sleep to look at who was standing over her. Finally her vivid blue eyes focused on me.

"Jin?" she mumbled.

"Where is Mugen?" I asked, still off-guard. She mumbled something incoherently. I frowned and got to my knees so I could better hear her. She tried again, but I still couldn't understand. I leaned in closer. The sweet smell of sake filled my senses. No doubt this was Mugen's fault.

"He's with Fuu," she repeated for the third time. My head jerked back, not expecting that answer. Never ever expecting that answer. Tsukiko's hand shot up and grabbed me by the collar. I hardly had time to take a breath. She was fast even when she was drunk. Then she yanked me down on top of her. "Now, you're with me."

This should have felt wrong with what had just happened, I should have stopped it. There were a lot of useless _shoulds_ flying around. I just peered down at her and smiled.

"Well, lucky me."

She removed my glasses carefully and set them aside. She sighed when she looked back up. "Lucky you."

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(a/n: Muah, ha, ha, ha! _cough, cough_ Ha!)


	23. Vol 23 Broken Promises, Broken Hearts

(a/n: _laughs nervously _Okay, now here is maybe the most crucial chapter in the story so far. It's a little, uh, crazy I guess the word would be... Now I said that some of you would be mad last week, but this week I _know_ a lot of you will. I think I really just like messing with you guys and toying with your emotions. This is a little bit of a longer chapter ("_Lucky you_") so that will maybe make up for all of the emotional turmoil. Enjoy. : o )

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**Vol. 23 Broken Promises, Broken Hearts**

**-Tsukiko-**

I could tell even before I opened my eyes that it was day. The glow of the sun coming through the open window burned against my eyelids, fighting its way in. My head pounded with each pulse of my heart…I had way too much sake last night.

Disgruntled at my own body for its lack of ability to recover, I went to sit up. A weight on my chest stopped me and I immediately remembered what had happened. I almost groaned at my foolish actions, but I wasn't sure if I was disappointed at the outcome. Nothing had happened really, we mostly just lay together. I could tell he was bothered about something –that something no doubt being Shino- so I held back. It was still great though…Though I couldn't shake the guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach for further confusing Jin and making this whole thing harder for him.

I let out a long breath quietly and settled back down into the bedroll. Finally, like I had just gotten the courage to do so, I looked over at Jin. The first thing I noticed was that his hair was down, his long silken strands mingling with my own. They were so close in color that you could scarcely tell the difference between them, save for the fact that mine were much longer. His face looked peaceful as he slept, unlike when we had been in the horrible prison when both of our expressions were always pained. I reached out to touch his face but quickly retracted my hand. I didn't want to disturb him. He shifted and opened his eyes.

"You're already awake?" he asked, a little surprised. I could understand, most people pass out for a long time after they drink.

"Yeah, just for a few minutes though."

"I think you had entirely too much sake last night," he said with amusement in his voice. "Did you and Mugen stay out of trouble?"

I nodded. I wanted to ask about what happened with Shino, but I didn't think it was my business. So I decided to go another direction. "So where are Fuu and Mugen?"

"I guess in the other room, though I don't know if I want to see what happened. When Mugen gets drunk he tends to be even more sexually inclined, and Fuu is very impressionable."

I laughed. If he only knew what was really going on there. "I think Fuu will be okay."

"Now that we are talking about it, I do suppose it might be a good idea to check on them."

I shrugged and sat up, my underclothes were disheveled and would need a good washing. I could do that with Fuu today and see what had gone on last night after I left. Jin stood too, only half dressed. This was most likely for modesty or courtesy's sake. His bare torso revealed that some of the bruises and cuts from the prison's grueling methods had not completely healed, just as mine hadn't. He pulled on his gi and carefully secured it before turning to me. I was in the middle of pulling on my kimono as he started to put his hair back up. I was slightly saddened by this; I liked his hair down. When I had finished tying up my obi we headed for the door.

**-Mugen-**

Clang!

'_Ow…_'

Clunk!

'_Ow!_'

Bang!

"Goddamnit, will you shut the hell up!?!" I yelled forcefully, finally fed up with all the racket.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Fuu asked all innocently. She knew exactly what the fuck she was doin'.

"What's your problem?" I demanded, sitting up. I felt like shit. I thought my head would explode if she made another loud noise like that, and on top of it all I was on the border of puking.

Fuu glared at me like I was an insect and she was gonna crush me. What did I do? I just woke up. How could I have pissed the brat off already? But she didn't' even say anything, she just stuck her nose up and turned her back to me. This was bullshit.

"Hey! I was talkin'. I asked you a fuckin' question!"

She slammed down the pot she was about to start filling with water. The noise split through my head like lightning. "I'm sorry I ruined your sleep princess!"

I didn't get it. What was this bitch's problem? "Come on no-chest, what's got a stick up your ass?"

She actually looked hurt. She turned to stare at me, lookin' like she was maybe about to cry. Aw, crap. "You seriously don't remember, do you?" she asked. I shook my head. "Never mind then."

I was about to keep prodding, so maybe she would break and tell me, but Jin and Tsuki came in.

"Whoa Mugen, you look like you got trampled last night," Tsuki chuckled.

"That's what I fuckin' feel like too," I growled.

"I know how that is." She went over to Fuu. "Why don't you and I take a trip down to the baths?"

"Yeah." She looked relieved as they went for the door. I looked up at Jin who put his palms up. Four eyes was clueless too.

When the girls were gone he came over and sat on the futon next to me. He was stressed.

"So what the fuck happened man?" I asked. I wanted to know what was up with the Shino chick.

He had his face in his hands when he mumbled somethin' I couldn't understand.

"Huh?"

"She's pregnant."

I just sat there as my face started to show my shock. This was some crazy shit. "What? Is it yours?"

"She said _might_, so I don't know."

"Is her husband the other guy?"

"I assume so." Jin was freaked out, maybe more than I'd ever seen. "I have to stay here, even if it were her husband's."

I scoffed. "Why?"

He frowned at me like the answer was totally fuckin' obvious and I was an idiot 'cause I couldn't see it. Shit, I was having my own problems right now.

"I was the one who killed her husband, and there's no way of telling whose it really was."

"Oh…good point. Sucks to be you."

"Remind me why I haven't killed you yet?"

I shrugged. "So are you going to tell her?" I was guessing he hadn't because she was in a pretty good mood this morning.

"Tsukiko? I have to. It wouldn't be right of me to let things keep going on like they have."

This got my attention. "So did something happen last night? Is that what you're talkin' about?" He just glared at me all pissed. "Tell me you got a sample at least. If it were me though, I would have gone for the whole thing. That girl is hot."

"It still amazes me how incredibly crude you are," he snapped.

"Whatever, I was just sayin'……." He shook his head. "Pussy."

"Don't start with me today Mugen."

"Sorry I forgot ladies don't kiss and tell."

**-Fuu-**

Tsuki and I were in tubs adjacent to each other, soaking up the relaxing water. This bathhouse had cost a little extra, but it was worth it. They even had people cleaning our clothes for us. I had chosen an imported lavender soap and Tsuki had gotten the jasmine. She had insisted on springing for it all of it, and I wasn't complaining one bit.

"Sorry about last night," she said after a good while of silence. "I was acting like a fool."

"No, it was more Mugen than you." I thought back to last night and found myself growing tense. That asshole…why didn't he just say his peace _before_ he passed out? I was dying to know what it was. And then this morning he acts like a jerk all over again.

"So, uh, what did he want to talk to you about?"

"He blacked out before he finished his sentence, so I don't know."

"What do you think he was trying to tell you?"

I wasn't sure. It felt like he was going to say something nice, but he was probably trying to get me to sleep with him. "Who knows."

We sat in silence for a full minute. I needed to break the quiet. Might as well find out the dirt about Jin and her while I was at it. I was a hopeless gossip, so what?

"Do you know what happened with Jin going to see Shino yesterday?"

"No, I didn't ask." She looked hurt and angry. I knew that look. I had that look on my own face more times than I could count.

"Are you jealous of Shino?" I asked carefully, not wanting to rub salt in her wounds.

"How could I not be?" I was really surprised. I didn't expect her to admit it. "I care about Jin, you have to know that." I nodded and she continued. "So him being with another woman, that just…it…it really undoes me."

"I'm really sorry Tsuki. If it were up to me, I'd pick him to be with you."

"Thanks, but the only one that can make that particular decision isn't being exactly cooperative. If he loves her, why can't he just tell me that?"

This was being forward, but it was how I really felt. "Maybe he loves you too."

………

We got back to the inn in time to have dinner served. Neither Tsuki nor I wanted to cook, and Jin and Mugen would probably poison us with their food. Mugen and Jin were still there, just lounging about like the lazy asses they were. I kicked Mugen's feet off the low table and he grunted angrily.

"You'd better loose that attitude real quick," he grumbled.

I ignored him.

"We took the liberty of ordering dinner. It should be here shortly," Jin told us as he sat sharpening his sword. He hadn't used it since the last time he had sharpened it, but it was sort of a meditation thing for him. I didn't ask questions.

"So can we all just forget about all of this bad stuff and move on?" I asked. Everyone seemed to agree.

"All this crap is way to stressful anyway. Poor Jin, I would be having a heart attack if I knew I were having a kid." Mugen sort of froze when he realized what he had said. My mouth dropped open and Tsuiki's eyes were wide. Jin had stopped mid-motion and kept _his_ eyes down.

"WHAT!?!" I cried, the first one to say anything after Mugen's big-mouthed slip up.

"It's not that big of a deal," Jin tried lamely.

"Not a big deal?" I parroted. "How is this not a big deal? Shino is having a kid, _your_ kid. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know…"

Tsuki apparently couldn't take anymore of this because she left rather quickly. To where, I had no idea. Jin went after her leaving Mugen and I behind wondering how in the hell we got to this point.

**-Tsukiko-**

I just had to go. I didn't know where and I didn't really care either. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and the ragged edges of the wound were exposed to the world. I was literally having trouble breathing. I wasn't crying, I had long since lost the need for that. I was in the courtyard of the inn when I heard Jin trying to catch up. I didn't stop, I refused to. If there were a wall in front of me I would have probably gone right through it.

He roughly grabbed my shoulder and whipped me around. I don't know what expression weighed on my features, and I couldn't discern his either.

"I didn't know," he explained.

"I hope you and she are very happy," I retorted in a very business-like tone. I was sure my voice would have come out cracked, strangled, or emotional, but it didn't. Good for me.

"I had no idea. How can you be angry when I didn't even know?"

"I'm not mad. Tell everyone that I'll be back soon."

I turned to leave, but he stepped in front of me. I wanted to clock him right in the face, but that wouldn't solve a damn thing. Too bad, I was really good at that. "Where are you going?"

"Away for a bit."

"To…?"

"Get out of my way," I warned as I tried to sidestep him but failed. He shook his head, actually getting angry himself.

"Stop acting like a child and tell me how you really feel."

I was taken aback and extremely offended by his words. "Okay, I feel betrayed Jin. I mean, you knew she was pregnant last night and you didn't tell me! You just let me go on thinking that everything was alright! How could you do that? You told Mugen before you told me!"

"I didn't want to hurt you." His words were genuine, but made no difference. There was no way in hell this was going to work out now… "Can you ever forgive me?"

The pain I had been feeling increased in folds as my own mind revealed the answer. I backed away from him, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Not this time…not for this."

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(a/n: Well...whaddya think? It's slightly disconcerting, and no promises on it getting any better. Also, I leave you on yet another cliff, hanging on only by the tips of your weak and desperate little fingers. Hence the term "cliffhanger". Sadistic, thy name is R&R!!!)


	24. Vol 24 The Absent Ally

(a/n: Yeah, I know 8 months of nothing. Where in the hell did I go? Who knows? Just be happy the story is back on track! Well let's see if we can't get some things done in this chapter. Resolved; I doubt it, but progressed and possibly worsened…Well, you all know what a cruel mistress I can be. I wouldn't want to let you all down, so I think I will keep tension high and prospects low. Maybe one day things will work out for the characters, but let's see if we can torture them a bit more first.)

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**Vol 24 The Absent Ally**

**-Jin-**

"How could you be so irresponsible and so-so-so _stupid_!" Fuu scolded as she stormed around the room in useless circles. I had been listening to this all day and it was beginning to get on my nerves. I did perhaps deserve it, but Fuu was not showing any sign of ceasing. I didn't know how much more I could endure.

"Really, why wouldn't you tell us?" she demanded.

"Cut it out, will ya?" Mugen cried, frustrated. "You haven't shut your trap all goddamned day!"

"Mugen, aren't you the least bit concerned? Tsukiko is gone!"

"We all know that, everybody in Japan knows that thanks to you. So why don't you just shut it?"

She huffed and went for the door. "Fine, I have to go to work anyway."

"Place at the fish stand?" She nodded. "Bring back dinner."

Once she was gone, Mugen sighed in relief and reclined back on the futon. He was chewing on a toothpick and smirking like he always was. How could he be so normal and so unaffected? It was as if he didn't even care. I hated and envied him for that. I thought sometimes, like now, it would be easier to just not give a damn about anything or anyone.

"Well?" I asked expectantly.

His eyes flicked to me. "Well what?"

"Aren't you going to say something about all of this?"

He shook his head. "Why? I'm not the one who's in love with the chick. Don't get me wrong, I like her and all, she's pretty alright." He scratched his mangy mop of hair. "Plus, I figure she'll come back sooner or later."

"I'm not so sure."

This actually seemed to stir some kind of alarm. He stopped chewing the sliver of wood and sat up a little. "Why wouldn't she be coming back? I mean, she just has to get over this, how long could that take?"

"She said she was, but the look on her face said that she was never going to see me again." That was hard to say. Never see her again? Maybe it was for the best, because I had serious doubt that she would ever accept Shino and I with a child. I don't think even I could bear to have her there in that situation.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Mugen asked expectantly, like I already had a plan working in my head.

"I have to stay."

"Too bad, I really liked that girl." He paused for a moment in thought. "Did she take the money with her?"

"I would assume…" I shrugged. I didn't care about that so much right now.

Mugen got up and went for the door. "Maybe I should get some kind of job then. At least if I'm makin' some extra dough then I can spend it on a hooker if I want."

"And what exactly do you plan on doing?" I asked him, wondering where in the hell he was going to get a job. Just looking at him, who would hire him? He could probably get bodyguard work like usual, but that was only if there were a need for it.

"Maybe I'll go to where Fuu works and see if they wanna hire someone else too. I can work with fish I guess."

"If I'm not home when you get here, then I will probably be with Shino."

He pressed his lips together tightly and nodded. "Your funeral."

"And what was that supposed to mean?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

He grunted impatiently and tapped the toe of his geta behind him. "Guys like you and me, not that I'm sayin we're the same, can't be the domestic type. You know it, I know it; I just figured it out first. We aren't like normal people if you hadn't noticed. We'll never be the family kind of guys. You may say 'duty' and 'honor', but deep down there you know you were made for fighting and nothin else. It's what we love, this life. I mean, can you picture yourself anywhere else? You know you love this gig we have. I think that if you could never pull that sword of yours out again, it'd be worse than dying."

Sometimes Mugen had these little speeches between all the ignorance and genuine stupidity that amazed me. I would never go as far to say that he was insightful, but he was somewhere in the general area…on occasion.

"Now I'm gonna go get me a job…then a hooker."

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(a/n: Sorta short, I know. I've had part of this chapter sitting for a while, and I just finished it. I'll do a longer one next time, I just need to go back and review what I already have before I get into it. Wish me luck.)


	25. Vol 25 Obligatory Offense

(a/n: Fairly fast- comapartively, that is. So here we go once more as we get into the swing of things. Just for paractice I wrote in the boy's POV's on this one. A lot of fun. I like the contrast. Anyway, Jin is a tad OOC, but you'll have to forgive it. He knows, okay? So take it easy on him. He doesn't like it anymore than you do. Everyone else is pretty much on their normal path. Jeeze..God forbid there's some character development here. Just kidding. Go read...What are you still doing here?...I told you to get on with it!...You're still reading this?!...That's it, it's on!)

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**Vol. 25 Obligatory Offense**

**-Mugen-**

Now that I had gotten away from Mr. Square, I was feeling a lot better. Man, that guy could be a downer sometimes. I guess I felt bad or whatever, about him having a kid and being all confused about choosing between two girls. Wait…_why_ was I feeling sorry for him? He had two girls and I had none. Fuck that. If I got a day of work in though, I could solve that problem. I just had to find Fuu and see if she could get her boss to hire me on too.

I rounded the corner and finally her behind the counter of a fish hocking stand. There was some guy chattin it up with her. He was younger than me, but not by much. Fuu seemed to be likin it too. He said something with a sly grin and she started laughing all girly. He started laughing himself when he saw she had gone into a fit.

'_Yuck it up Chuckles,'_ I thought menacingly. He'd better keep his hands off if he knew what was good for him. I was sick of all these people getting all caught up in this sappy bullshit. Was I the only one who wasn't going all crazy over someone? If I could prevent some of this before it started then we'd be better off. I thought about all this as I walked up to Fuu and whoever the funny guy was.

"Yo."

Fuu wiped a tear out of her eye. "Hey Mugen. You should have heard the story Kazu just told-" She stopped, trying to catch some air and get a grip on herself before she went off again. Just when I thought she was going to have it, she lost it and started laughing her head off. "The cabbage….and- the…'_That's not a pig, that's my wife!'_" I don't think I'd ever heard her laugh so hard ever.

I raised my eyebrow as far as it would go. I felt like it was going to go right up into my hair. She was acting kind of dumb like when she used to get those crushes on the guys we met on the first go of our journey. I still remember what she did for that artist; the painter who did the Ukiyo-e shunga. Fuu didn't seem too pissed at the end of it all though. In fact, she seemed real okay with it, beside the fact she was pissed at the guy for lying to her.

"So…" the guy started awkwardly. He stuck his hand out to shake. I left him hanging there; shaking hands wasn't my thing. "You're Mugen, then."

I squinted a little at him. There was somethin I didn't like about this clown. "Yeah…"

"I'm Kazu, like Fuu said."

_'I don't care.'_

I turned to Fuu. "So looks like a nice set-up you got goin here. Wanna let me in on it?"

She frowned. "No way! You'll mess it up Mugen. Now that Tsuki's gone off with the money, we actually need this job. We have to pay for everything that we've already used and for what we need. No offence, but you're kind of a screw up."

"Whoa there bitch, don't spare my feelings or anything," I spa sarcastically. To my right funny boy made a move to stand between me and Fuu. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back as I clenched my fist to hit him. What they hell? He thought she needed protection form me?

"You shouldn't do that Kazu," she warned him.

"He has spoken to you like any common whore. He is dishonorable."

"That's just how Mugen is, it didn't mean anything."

He relaxed a bit, and I was disappointed that he hadn't tried a swing. I wanted to bruise up that face of his, maybe break his nose even. He was on my last fuckin nerve and I was already at the end of my rope with my temper today. "Go for it punk, see what happens."

"Mugen, stop it!" Fuu yelled. "I'm going to loose my job if you make trouble."

I put my hands up at their usual resting place behind my head. "Fine. I'll be a good boy." I turned to leave, still a little heated, but I wasn't stupid enough to cut off our only money source. I turned when I heard that punk saying something to Fuu behind my back. "See you around Kazu."

**-Jin-**

I didn't leave the hotel until almost sundown to go see Shino. I wasn't sure where she was inside the house, but I needed to talk to her. We had to make a plan for our future. I had to have a good life for this child hood. I wouldn't allow him to be born into a bad childhood or a broken family. I remembered my early years and just being shipped off to the dojo. So young I was thrown into violence that I didn't even remember what life was like without it. Mugen had grown up in the Ryukyu Islands with criminals, and he had a more horrible childhood than I. And Fuu hadn't had a father for most of her life, only to have him die when they were finally reunited. Up until then she had to take care of her sick mother and watch her die a little more every day, something no one should have to do. Then there was Tsukiko. She had near three parents die. Two from murder. Then she chose to leave her country; that in itself was another great feat. I nearly forgot about the lover she had lost to the sea…I still didn't know much about him. So that added up to four for Tsukiko. I turned my thoughts back to the unborn child. That was what I wanted to protect him from.

I came to the house and went to the shadowed side. I was going to just look in windows until I found her. Of course I had no way of telling her that I was coming, she wasn't to have visitors. I'm sure any message from a man would be read to ensure the girl's safety, so that way would be futile too. I inched closer to the first glowing rectangle, my feet making nearly no noise. No one in the house would ever hear me approaching.

"Funds are low this month Hiraku. We might have to ask the government for more money. I'm sure we could tap one of the more philanthropic contributors, couldn't we?"

I inched past this window, not interested in the conversation. Shino wouldn't be here much longer anyway. The next few windows were just as fruitful. With a sigh I looked to the second story. The narrow balcony would be difficult to get to. I found a tree on the backside of the building that reached up to the second story…barely. I willed the branches not to snap under my weight as I climbed. Finally my hands rested on the railing and I made it over with no trouble. I kept crouched low next to the thin paper doors. I really didn't know how I could look inside them without anyone seeing me.

It felt shameful crawling around like some peeping pervert. I never would have done this under any circumstances other than these. I slid the first door open a fraction of an inch and peered in. A woman sat sewing a garment in the candlelight- not Shino. The next I didn't even have to look in because a the woman was softly playing a shamisen and singing along. Her voice did not sound like Shino. The third room had three women sitting around and gossiping over a communal bottle of sake. No doubt it was the thing that had loosened their tongues in the first place.

It wasn't until the fifth room that I found her. She was tidying up her space and making her bed for the night. I slid the door shut and crept toward her. She turned and jumped, my sudden presence no doubt frightening her.

"Jin!" she whispered urgently. "You can't be here."

"I had to come and talk to you. We have to make plans for us, and there is no other way to do that than for me to come see you."

She looked around uncertainly, but nodded. "When do we leave?"

"I do not know just yet," I sighed. "Many things have to be done. I have to get a house, money, a job."

"Won't that take a long time?" she questioned earnestly.

I was a little confused by her sudden urgency, but I shook it off. She was just nervous about getting out and having a baby. Perhaps I was being a little paranoid because of all of the pressure lately. "Do you think you can wait a bit longer?"

"I-I…yes." She didn't look at all certain of her answer. Actually, it looked like she was certain of exactly the opposite of what she told me.

"I suppose I'll go out and get a job first thing," I told her; though it was more of a thought to myself. "Then I can get a place for us to stay. It won't be nice; at least, not at first. After that I can come back for you. How we'll get you out, I'll have to plan. Maybe I can get Mugen to assist me."

"Whatever you think is best," Shino agreed. "But you have to go now. Night checks are soon, and if you get caught then I will be thrown out now."

I nodded and turned to go. She run up behind me and embraced me from behind. Her hands were wrapped tightly around my chest. It had been a long time since we had touched, and it wasn't something I was going to ever forget…her touch. When she released me I smiled down at her and then went on my way.

As I walked back to the room, it now being late enough for Fuu and Mugen to start getting impatient waiting for me, I felt the most perplexing combination of emotions. Half of me felt like I was leaving pert of myself back with Shino, and the other half was already gone. So as I wound my way through the crowded streets and down the narrow alleys, I felt hollow.

We had always been taught back at the dojo that emotion was weakness. Showing it in life lead to showing weakness in battle. It was a sure way to meet your bloody fate, my master had told me. During all those hours of endless drills and sparring you start to loose it anyway, so I never missed it. Now though, I was feeling so much that it was overwhelming. I didn't like it. I was still making the rational decisions, but it felt like it was only a matter of time until I would meet the afterlife. No matter how finalized or certain I felt in a choice, I knew I was making a mistake…in my heart. I winced as I thought of how sentimental that sounded. Men did not think such things, only women. Mugen would never let me live this down if he found out.

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(a/n: Torture!!!!! Ha, ha. R&R my lovelies.)


	26. Vol 26 Jin's Junction

(a/n: Hey there. Fun stuff in this chapter. Psych! No…It's all sad and depressing. Generally it'll bring you down faster than a cinderblock tied to your ankles in the ocean. Imagery is awesome. R&R loves.)

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**Vol. 26 Jin's Junction**

**-Fuu-**

As I walked home from the fish stand tonight, going back over the odd events, I couldn't help but still think I was lucky. I mean, Mugen _had_ sort of nearly ruined everything, but it all turned out fine. Kazu let it go when Mugen walked away, not that I thought he'd have won in the fight anyway. My theory on me finally being lucky though was that Kazu had even come back around today. I was such a fool the first time we met that I never thought he'd come back. And how he stood up for me, like a real guy should. I was used to Mugen.

His idea of treating a woman right was actually paying her afterward.

Don't even get me started on Jin. I used to think he'd be a guy who'd know the value of a woman, but now I wasn't convinced. He got a girl pregnant and lead another on when he knew perfectly well that he was in love with the first. Then he doesn't even go after the other one when he's _clearly_ in love with her too. I didn't think he knew that just yet though. Or maybe he did and he just kept telling himself he wasn't. Maybe it made it easier for him. I had to give it to him though; he did take care of his responsibilities.

I was at the inn before I even knew it. I was startled when the man at the door greeted me. "Hello young miss."

I nodded a quick response and bustled up to the room.

The bundle of fish in my hand that I had wrapped up before the stand closed weighed heavily in my hands. I had picked the best of the remainders for our dinner. I knew the boys would be happy. I was thinking of trying to do something special with them, but I couldn't think of anything to make with just the stuff we had. We didn't have the money to buy anything else either.

Mugen was sitting next to the window when I slid the door open. The toothpick in his mouth was barely between his lips, about to fall. His eyes were drifting lazily around; taking in whatever caught his eye. His left hand was curled up under his chin and the other was propping him up behind his back. He didn't even look at me when I came in. It was usual, especially when he was feeling annoyed with me.

"You seen four-eyes?" he suddenly asked. I was already unwrapping the fish and pulling out a pot to put them in with some vegetables. Looked like I was going to be stewing them.

"No," I answered with a sigh. "I haven't. He's probably still over with Shino."

"Whatever. When's dinner?"

"When Jin gets back."

I could see his eyes roll even from across the room. He knew that could be anytime. We sat in the silence for a while more, me making dinner and him not doing anything.

"So what was that all about today? That whole thing with Kazu could have gotten me fired, you know." I voiced, breaking the silence. He shrugged. "You could at least give me an explanation. He didn't even do anything to you Mugen. You just started being rude to him right off the bat."

"I don't like his face."

I glared daggers at his back. He never had a good reason for anything he did. Sometimes I just didn't believe he thought about the things he did or said beforehand. "Well jeeze Mugen, if I had known then I wouldn't have ever bothered." The acidy sarcasm was satisfying as it spilled out of my lips. I was sure a fight was coming, but I didn't really care. I was on the edge from all the bad stuff that had been going on and the one good thing was being ruined by Mugen.

"Fine, do what you want Fuu." He was calm and passive. What was going on? Mugen never ever didn't fight, not even if he knew he was wrong.

I was about to ask him if he was alright when Jin came in looking just as off as Mugen. For the first time since I met him, his face was vacant. It looked like absolutely nothing was going on behind his usually intelligent eyes. This was frightening.

Dinner was just as uncomfortable. No one was talking really, and that wasn't all that odd, but no one was interested in the food. Now that, that was definitely weird.

"This is the last dinner we will be having together," Jin told us halfway through. The food had long since gone cold, but we were still picking at it.

I looked up from my bowl, confused. "What?"

"He's going away tomorrow, genius," Mugen clarified.

"With Shino?" I asked. I didn't think it'd be this quick. "Jin, you hardly just got back together with her. And-"

"Fuu, I understand that you are worried about your fate, but Shino needs me. She is due in the next few weeks, and I have to have things ready. You and Mugen can continue to travel together, and I'm sure that Tsukiko will come back and resume her place."

"Jin," I helplessly said. My voice was barely above a whisper. I looked at Mugen. "What about you? Are you going to go too? Are you both just going to leave me? First it was Tsuki and now Jin- how long are you going to stay Mugen, a week?" I fought back the tears that blurred the edge of my vision. "Just go you idiots!" I stood up and slammed the partition between our sleeping areas. I knew I was being immature, but I just couldn't take the thought of us breaking up again. I blinked back the tears even though I was alone and free to cry all I wanted. I was sick of being the cry-baby little kid of the group. No one took me serious around here or thought I could do anything, and maybe it was because I acted like a kid. I wasn't going to cry anymore.

----

I woke up to the sound of a frustrated grunt. My eyes were heavy and swollen. I might have been crying while I slept. Dang it. Mugen was fiddling with a hole in his shirt; sticking his long, bony, calloused finger through the hole in the red cloth. I raised my head up and noticed no one else was there. By no one, I meant Jin.

"He's gone already," Mugen supplied. He knew that was the first thing I'd look for. "Left around sunset. He told me to tell you that he didn't say goodbye because he knew it'd just make it all harder for you."

"Oh…" was all I could say. It was done and I'd slept right through it. Jin was gone. Two down, one to go.

"Do you have work today?" Mugen asked. He was being kind of pleasant at least.

I nodded. "Yeah. Every day this week."

**-Mugen-**

"You know man, I never thought you'd be the one to leave with a girl first," I said to Jin.

"Shh," he hissed with a finger on his lips. He jabbed thumb at Fuu. She was curled up under the blankets, still asleep. It was before sunrise even, and Jin was getting out early. He was packing up all his shit, stuffing it all in a bag he'd got from wherever. "I don't want to bother Fuu. It'll be easier if we don't have to say goodbye. She tends to get extremely emotional."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Would you tell her something for me?"

"What?" I asked. I picked something out from under my fingernail. I was a little curious about what old Jin's last words to Fuu would be, and here I would be the one to deliver them.

"Tell her that I was just doing what I thought was right and that I didn't say goodbye to ease her pain."

I laughed. Jin looked mad when I shook my head. "Yeah, easier for her. Whatever you have to tell yourself buddy."

He sighed. "Just do it."

He went for the door, putting the sack over his shoulder. So this was it; the big goodbye. "Do me a favor and don't fuck that kid up by making him turn like you."

Jin actually got a big grin on his face. "That's a scary thought."

"You know, if I ever get a chick to pop out one of mine, and Fuu ever has one of her own; then I think that our little curse is so bad it might carry on over to them and they'll end up stuck together too."

"Our three kids you mean?" He thought about that for a second. "You're probably right."

"Well, see ya. Too bad I never got to kill you."

"I couldn't agree more."

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(a/n: sad face. )


	27. Vol 27 Invidious Envy

(a/n: I blame my absentee-ness on school. Forgiveness is in your hands, distribute it as you will.)

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**Vol. 27 Invidious Envy**

**-Mugen-**

It was damn depressing being around Fuu these days. She was havin a hard time since Jin left, but she kept it inside. That was pretty weird since Fuu never missed a chance to complain, to the entire world, about whatever was rubbin her the wrong way. Yeah, she was just all quiet and pouty lookin all the time. She kept on working at the fish place though, and she brought in okay pay. We had to move into a smaller and crappier hotel, not that I really cared. So even if Tsuki or Jin came back, they'd have a hard time finding us. But I was pretty damn sure fish-face wasn't going to make a visit anytime soon.

So I was going to cheer Fuu up today, or something like that, just cause I felt like it. It was her last day of work this week, so I figured I could kidnap her and drag her to a bar or something to forget her troubles. Plus, I was going anyway, and she had all the money.

When I got to her work though, no one was there. The fish stand was all closed up; the shutters were down and the sign on the little hook was on the 'closed' side.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself, lookin around. Fuu said she had work today and that she wasn't getting off till late. I growled and clenched my teeth together till they hurt. Figures, the one time I try and do something nice for the little bitch and she lies to me. I scratched my head and looked around. The old people who owned the fish place lived right behind the stand, so maybe they were home and knew where the runt would be.

The old guy answered on the seventh or eighth pound on the door. He looked a little pissed that I was knocking so hard, but I didn't really give a fuck. I just wanted to know where Fuu was. "Where's Fuu?" I asked.

The old dude's bushy little eyebrows went up. "Fuu? What do you want with her?"

"She's a friend, and she said she was workin today. I guess that wasn't the truth, now was it?"

"Today is her day off, young man. Come back tomorrow." He tried to shut the door, but I put a hand on it and forced it open.

"Not so fast. I thought we were havin a nice conversation here, and you get all rude…You know where she might be?"

He looked uncertain. "She might be with young master Kazu."

I frowned pretty damn hard and let my hand go from the door. I turned and walked away as I heard the door shut. She lied, the little sneak. She told me she had to work and really she was going out on a date with that little punk. Oh she'd be sorry she tried to pull one over on me, I was going to make damn sure of it.

**-Fuu-**

Kazu.

He was being so nice to me, even though Mugen almost messed it up. That's why I didn't tell him about today. He wouldn't have understood. I was having a hard time with the whole Tsuki thing, Jin leaving, and trying to be a grown-up all at once. I just needed a break, and Kazu gave me that. I didn't worry when I was around him, everything just faded away, and there were no troubles or bad stuff.

He had been to visit every day this week, and today was the day I agreed to go on a date with him. I know that it was kind of out of the blue of him to ask, but he seemed worth taking the risk on.

Presently, he was walking me home. I told him we had to be back in time for Mugen to not suspect anything. It had to be the same time I got off work every other day. He agreed, but was a little mad that I wouldn't stand up to Mugen. I just didn't want to have to go through a fight was all.

"Fuu?" Kazu asked quietly. We were walking side by side and I turned my face to look up at him. "Ca-can I hold your hand?"

I felt the blood invade my face and the burning sensation of a blush. I looked down. "Sure." _Oh wow,_ I thought to myself. _He really likes me! I hope it doesn't turn out like all the others have._

And there it was; that cold thought that snuck into my brain and messed everything up. Kazu noticed and a look of concern scrunched his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. "I was just thinking about something I forgot to do yesterday." The answer seemed to satisfy him, because he slipped his hand in mine and smiled that wonderful smile at me.

"Well, don't worry about it today. You should get one day off from that too."

We walked the whole way back with our hands together. It was hard keeping my heart rate down, I was sure he'd see it pounding out of my chest, it was going so hard. When we got back to the new place, almost all of the lights were off, even ours. I stared up at it for a second before Kazu came to stand right in front of me.

"Fuu, I really like you. You're not like the other girls," he whispered down to me. It sounded sort of like a line, but I didn't care.

"Thanks," I breathed back. I didn't want to be too loud. Anyone overhearing this would be embarrassing. "You're really nice too. Most people wouldn't have stuck around after Mugen harassed them like that."

He looked up at the hotel too, an unhappy expression on his face. "I'm not afraid of him."

"You should be."

"And I don't like you two staying up there alone together."

I laughed. "Oh, no. Mugen wouldn't do anything like that to me. He doesn't even like me all that much. I'm pretty sure he just sees me as some dumb little girl he always has to save."

Kazu shook his head and gave me a you-are-so-naive look. "I don't think so somehow. I think he does have extra feelings for you that you aren't aware of."

"And I think you're a little jealous, though you shouldn't be. Mugen is just Mugen, he'd never want me."

"Huh," Kazu huffed. He frowned and looked down at me. "Funny choice of words."

"What?"

"You said that _he'd_ never want_ you_. Not that _you'd_ never want _him_."

I pressed my lips together. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. "Kazu, you know what I meant."

He nodded. "Yes, I do. That's why I'm confused about this. That doesn't mean I'm just going to stop liking you though. As long as you want me too, I'll be around."

And just like that he leaned in and kissed me. His lips pressed against mine and my head went fuzzy and tingly. A few seconds later he pulled away and out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw a shadow pass in the window of our room. Was Mugen home? That thought scared me a lot, and I was caught in a weird place for a few moments. Half of me was still reeling from the kiss, and half was scared of what Mugen would think if he saw that. Kazu had already started to walk away, so I had no choice but to go back up to the room and face me fears.

When I opened the door, I found the room empty and cold. So I guess I had been worried about nothing. But the bad feeling in my stomach wouldn't go away, and when I laid down for bed, I couldn't sleep. I waited for hours to see when Mugen would be back, but I ended up drifting off after all and he never came.

**-Mugen­­­-**

I had waited, and waited, and waited for the brat to get home so I could cuss her out about lyin to me. I left the room dark since we were runnin low on fuel for the lanterns. I was by the window watchin the street as people went by one after another. No Fuu though.

I was gonna give up, because all the street was dark and the people hadn't been on it for hours, but then there she came. She was just strollin along the street like nothin was wrong. She had that jack-ass proper guy with her too, and they were holding hands. When I saw that, my stomach dropped about an inch. What the hell was she doin with this guy anyway? Didn't she know better by now? Every single time she got into one of these little flings with a guy, he ended up dead, or to be trickin her, or just a freak. Then she'd be all sad for days, and bring me and Jin down. It was going to be nothing but bitch, bitch, bitch for the next few months. And now that I was the only one around, she'd lay it all on me. Fuck.

They stopped right below me, and I stood up and moved to one side of the window so they couldn't see me. I was hidden in the shadow.

"Fuu, I really like you. You're not like the other girls." He was feeding her lines. Lame ones at that. Fuu wouldn't fall for that shit. At least she was smarter than that.

"Thanks. You're really nice too. Most people wouldn't have stuck around after Mugen harassed them like that."

What? She was actually going for that? What was her problem? And then he looked up at me, right where I was standing, but I wasn't sure if it was just luck or that he actually could see me. "I'm not afraid of him." Oh yeah, he saw me. He was fuckin challenging me.

At least Fuu was being smart about one thing, because she warned her little boyfriend. "You should be." That's right punk, Fuu knows.

But he kept on lookin at me. "And I don't like you two staying up there alone together."

That made me mad. Like I'd ever hurt Fuu like that. I mean, hell yeah I liked ladies to be rough with me, and all that. Hurting them though, wasn't my game. Well, not unless they hurt me first like they were going to kill me or sumthin.

"Oh, no. Mugen wouldn't do anything like that to me. He doesn't even like me all that much. I'm pretty sure he just sees me as some dumb little girl he always has to save."

Damn straight.

"Huh. Funny choice of words."

"What?"

"You said that _he'd_ never want_ you_. Not that _you'd_ never want _him_."

Fuu looked a little frustrated. I don't think she meant it like that. Fuu didn't like me. Hell, I think she saw me as a dirty, pirating, pervert. I always had the feeling she had it for Jin.

"Kazu, you know what I meant."

"Yes, I do. That's why I'm confused about this. That doesn't mean I'm just going to stop liking you though. As long as you want me too, I'll be around."

What a sap, what a loser, what a- My thoughts came to crashing stop when the little fucker grabbed her and kissed her. I didn't do anything but stare like a goddamned idiot while he hade out with her right in front of me. I'd kill him, I'd do all sorts of fun stuff to him when I got my hands on him…I'd do something. And then he pulled back from her and left. Fuu stared lookin up here, at the window, but I got out of sight in time. I had to get out of this stupid room. I didn't want to see Fuu's face right now. I was pissed, probably a lot more than I had been earlier or in a long time. Why, I didn't know.

I laughed at myself. Of course I knew. I just didn't want to admit it was all. Not like it would help anything…I wasn't ever going to change, not for nobody. And what I was wasn't what she needed. But I kept goin back to what she said, because it caught my ear too. That I wouldn't want her; I didn't really. No, not unless someone else had her. Kind of my nature, being a pirate and all, that I only wanted the stuff other people had. Or thought they did. I only thought about Fuu like that when she had an interest in another guy and she wasn't hanging around me all the time. I wonder what Jin would have to say about that. He'd probably go on warning me about not compromising her honor. Fuckin Jin, he didn't even have useful advice when he was comin from my own head.

So I was gone by the time Fuu even got to the top of the stairs, out the window and down the street in the direction Kazu went. I was set on payin him a little visit.

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(a/n: I still think that I get more encouragement than I deserve. You all are being so patient with the whole slow-update thing. I appreciate it, and thank you all for the good things you have to say.)


	28. Vol 28 Inevitable Entropy

(a/n: Just to challenge myself, I have no ideas of what I'm going to write. I'm just going to start and not stop until I feel like it. Wonder what will com out. Let's see.)

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**Vol. 28 Inevitable Entropy**

**-Jin-**

It was overwhelming trying to procure all of the necessities for Shino and I to start our life together. With the baby due in two weeks, I was short on time and had not a lot of experience on what had to be done. The job was fine; I had gone to the richest part of the city and offered my services as a body guard. The man had at first refused, but when his top guard challenged me and I defeated him without trouble, he had reconsidered. I was going to earn plenty of money, and be able to afford a suitable home. Things were going better than I had expected.

As for Shino herself, we were planning to get her out at the end of this week. I'd been there every night to plan the escape, and though she was happy to be leaving with me, I believed she was also a little anxious. These things happen though when women get pregnant. Their hormones make them a little emotional, understandably.

I was a little sorry to part with my friends. I'd felt bad about the way I left things with Fuu, because I was sure she was mad at me for it. I was not at all worried about Mugen, he was just fine. Though the thought of those two together alone was both comical and a little scary. I wasn't sure what would come of it, but I would have liked to be there to witness it. I didn't even know how long they'd be alone, because I wasn't sure that Tsukiko was going to come back. I had thought she would, but maybe I had done more damage than I had thought.

"Jin," Shino whispered from the bed behind me. I turned to talk to her, despite the fact my thoughts were elsewhere. When she saw she had my attention, she smiled and placed a hand on her swollen stomach. "What should we name the baby if it's a boy…or a girl? I hope it's a girl. I've always wanted one."

"But sons are better to carry on names."

He smile faded away as quickly as it had come. "You are always so serious about these things."

"Is there anything more serious than having a child?" I inquired somewhat sarcastically.

"No, but what would you do if it was a girl?"

I shrugged. "Be her father."

"I see." Shino rolled over, putting her back to me.

I sighed and began to gather my things. I'm sure Mugen and Fuu weren't even having this much trouble.

**-Fuu-**

"Where have you been!?!" I cried when Mugen came through the door late the next morning. He grunted at me. He looked hung over, but I was still mad at him for making me worry so much. A sake jug dangled precariously from his middle finger, but he set it down in what looked like just in time.

As he flopped down on his bedroll, I gave him a little kick. He growled at me and swatted at my foot. He must have been on one hell of a bender, because he was looking pretty haggard. There were heavy dark circles under his eyes, his hair and clothes were messier than I'd ever seen, and he smelled like booze from five feet away.

He groaned and curled up. He pulled his pillow over his head to block out the light. Jerk, he deserved it. A second later I sighed, starting to feel bad. I went to the window resignedly and pulled the curtains shut. Dumb old Mugen, he probably was just out drinking with some whores and didn't even care that I was home and worried about him. If course not, because he was a self-centered asshole.

I was just going to leave him alone. I was due at work anyway. I stopped in the door and looked back at the familiar body. "See you Mugen, I'm going to work." I shut the door and in the hall I distinctly heard the words 'sure you are'.

-----

And that was where he still was when I got home. The only difference was that he was sprawled out like usual, and his head was on top of the pillow. At least the sun was setting now, so the light wouldn't be a problem. He hadn't even bothered to undress, the lazy bum. One of his geta was a few feet away one the floor, probably kicked off during some time during the day. I picked it up and bent to remove the other. He flinched when I did, but didn't wake up. I set them neatly next to the door and then took my own off and put them right next to Mugen's.

"So how was your day?" Mugen asked acidly. I turned, not understanding the anger in his voice. He still looked pretty bad, but at least he was vertical. He was using one arm to prop himself up on the windowsill, the other was raising a jug of sake to his lips. He eyed me in a really odd way as he took a gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Fine," I answered. I walked over to him and attempted to swipe the bottle from him, but even hung over Mugen was faster then I was. "Stop drinking you idiot, you see what it's done to you already."

He was holding the thing high over my head with a satisfied and cruel smirk. "Hair of the dog that bit you," he supplied.

I rolled my eyes. "Just give it here, Mugen."

"Why should I listen to you? Who made you the boss girlie? Last time I checked I was bigger, stronger, and meaner than you."

"Don't forget smellier, and obviously more stupid." I was getting so mad at him. He was just being so….argh! To my surprise, he began to hand me the bottle. I was a little relieved and suspicious that the argument was over so quickly. At the last second he whipped around and threw the jug at the wall. It collided with a crash and it shattered in a spray of sake and porcelain shards. I cowered away from it, not believing that Mugen had just done that. When I stood up straight he was on his way to the door.

"Bye. I thought I'd go take a bath since you think I smell so bad. Catch you later."

I stared at the door for a long time. What had gotten into him? I didn't understand. We hadn't even fought at all lately. Not since Jin had left a week ago. Here, out of the blue, he just snaps. Maybe he was getting sick of me. I wanted to go and just ask him what was up, but I didn't think now would be the best time. I would give him a while to cool down. Maybe I'd have a nice dinner there to make him cheer up, not that he really deserved it. So I went about staring the preparation for Mugen's favorite. He always was a lot happier after I made gyoza and grilled ika.

**-Mugen-**

Okay, so I over-reacted.

A lot….

It wasn't really her fault, but fuck if I couldn't make it seem that way. She did lie to me after all. And it wasn't like I had actually gone to her little boyfriend's house and done anything to him. I wanted to, but I didn't. I had actually followed him all the way to his house and went right up to the door. I was just going to burst through and slice him into bits, the little shit. I didn't though. I just stood there lookin at the door, thinking of what Fuu would think of me if I did it. In the end I just walked off and went to a bar.

And when I got up this morning, there she was, tryin to take care of me. Fuck that. She was a little liar and I was supposed to just act like everything was cool? I don't think so. So I broke the damn bottle on the wall. Sure it scared her, but it didn't hurt her.

So why did I feel so bad?

I was thinkin about it while I soaked, pickin the dirt from under my nails. It never came out all the way. Like I was always gonna be just a little bit dirty. I dunked my head under and when I came up the last person in the world I wanted to see was right there in front of me.

"Mugen…"

"What are you doin here, you little fucker?"

That Kazu guy, even his face got on my nerves. His name, everything about him made me want to kill him.

"Same reason as you," he answered like his smart-ass self. He got undressed and got into the bath next to me. What the hell? I didn't want this guy anywhere near me, or else I might do something considerably illegal. "So, you were home to see Fuu and my little interlude."

He was pushing buttons. I laughed. "Interlude? I dunno what you think an interlude is, but a kiss isn't exactly hot and steamy territory."

He shrugged and leaned against the side of his tub. "Maybe not, if all you kiss are whores. Yes, Fuu told me about that…about how you can't seem to get enough of them. But have you actually ever kissed Fuu? It is better than any whore I'd bet." I gritted my teeth together. He was going for low blows. "I mean wow, she really was fantastic. I just can't wait to see what else she can do."

And that was when I snapped. I stood up, not caring if I was naked, not that I ever did. I went over and grabbed fuck-face by his hair and dragged him out of the tub. I had my tonto to his neck, the tip biting into the skin just a little. Just enough to make him bleed. "Listen up mother fucker, if you ever try shit like that with her I'll cut off every body part one by one…starting with that sad excuse of a dick. You get me?"

And he smiled at me. "Oh yes, I do. Loud and clear." Everything about how he said it told me that he didn't get any of it, or was too cocky to care. If only he knew who he was messing with. I let him go and he stumbled back. He wiped the blood off his neck and looked at it. "I wonder though, what Fuu might think of this."

"She knows who I am, and she's accepted it. But she don't know who you really are, and I don't think she'd like you anymore if she did."

He shook his head. "That doesn't matter, because I could have her now if I wanted to. She believes me, she thinks I'm honest. You're just a womanizing, alcoholic, thief in her eyes. She doesn't want you Mugen. She never would."

"Maybe," I scoffed, pulling on my clothes. "But what you don't get…is that Fuu does trust me…even though she shouldn't." I swung my sword over my shoulder. "And she knows everything about me. It kinda happens when you save someone's life a bunch of times. So what you just did, was give me all the information I need to turn you in, and I hardly had to do anything for it. Bet you didn't think a drinking, dirty, pirate was so smart, did you?"

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(a/n: Not so bad, I guess. So that's what I get when I write for half an hour with absolutely no ideas. Thanks you to the readers; new and old. And special thank you's to the reviewers, you guys are extra awesome. A for you. And how fast was this update? Yay for me. But more yay for you...I suppose. Okay, I'm off to dreamland now. I hear they put in a new roller coaster. See you in line.)


	29. Vol 29 Proof of Purgatory

(a/n: Okay, so it's back with a vengeance, and I've been in a mood or two so lets see what we can't emotionally displace into this story. Thanks to all who put in for the word challenge, good suggestions. I liked it so much I'm thinking up another challenge-type thing for you all. So the winner is (drum roll) - Wait. What the hell? We don't need a goddamned drum roll for this. The friggin winner is _Jess_…with their suggestion of 'proof'. BUT, I am going to use all of them, so yay for all who put in, even the late entries. Not sure which will be next, I'll keep you posted. Kudos.)

**Vol. 29 Proof of Purgatory**

**-Mugen-**

I had what I needed to pin the kid, all I needed was to tell Fuu. Then she'd leave that dickhole behind and we could get on with our lives. I made it all the way back to the inn smiling to myself at how nice it was all workin out for me. Sometimes I just couldn't help but be cocky when I was smart like that.

"Yo," I said to Fuu when I got up to the room. I stopped dead by what I saw. Fuu had dinner all ready for me; all my favorites. Why in the hell would she be nice to me like this after what I did? "Uh…" I began slowly, my eyes havin a hard time pulling away from the steaming dishes. "I have to tell you something."

Fuu was sittin down on a cushion, looking up at me with a smirk. "Well, does this make you feel better?"

I rubbed at the back of my neck, tousling the fine, still-damp hairs there. "Yeah, but-"

She made a hand motion that said I should sit down so I did. "Now, let's just forget all about what happened earlier and have a nice and peaceful meal, okay? No bad stuff?"

Damn. She almost sounded like she was begging for me to try and make this work. "Fuu. Listen for a fuckin minute, willya?" She glowered at me and pouted like a four-year-old. "Kazu, that guy you were with last night. I talked to him today when I left…I didn't go lookin for him if that's what you're thinkin. But he told me that he was going to try and get you to sleep with him and shit. I just thought you might want a heads up."

See? That wasn't so bad. Wrong. Fuu folded her arms and leaned back from me. "What did you do to him Mugen?" she demanded.

This is what a guy gets for tryin to be nice…just like fuckin last time. "What the hell do you mean? I was helping you out, so calm the fuck down!"

She stood up and started getting all huffy like she always does. Her face was goin red, and her fists were balled up, and I could just see her aching to stamp her foot. "You! You just stay out of my business! I'm sorry if you don't like Kazu, but I do! And who are you to talk about getting women into bed, you're the worst of all. I don't know what's up with you Mugen, but from now on, stop messing up my life!"

When she stopped, she was breathin hard and some of her hair had fallen out of place. It had been a while since she was this pissed at me; and it was all for no reason; all because of that little fuck.

"So that's it then? You're just going to believe that creep over me?" I asked, my voice was getting low and angry. I didn't ever mean for it to, it was like one of those involuntary reactions.

"I guess."

"I thought you were smarter than that," I sighed, standing up. I was on my way right back out the fuckin door again. "but turns out you are that stupid."

**-Fuu-**

What was Mugen playing at, trying to get me to be against Kazu like that? He was one of the nicest, sweetest, most sincere people I had ever met. There was no way what Mugen was claiming was true. It just couldn't be. I looked down at the table laden with all the food I had tried so hard and carefully to make. What a waste. I had never seen Mugen walk voluntarily away from a meal before. That struck me as odd.

"What should I do?" I thought aloud, talking to myself. I wished Tsuki or Jin was here to talk to. At least if Jin were here, he could talk some sense into Mugen. But now he was gone, Tsuki was gone, and Mugen…I looked around the lifeless room…was gone. Was it for good?

---------

"Kazu?" I asked gently over my steaming cup of tea. The steam made his image all distorted, and the smoke in the restaurant wasn't helping.

"Hmm?" he replied through a mouthful of some noodles.

I set my cup down, it was starting to burn my fingertips. "Did you talk to Mugen?"

He swallowed and nodded solemnly. "I did. He went crazy on me though. He said that he was going to kill me. I don't know what provoked it, but I was terrified."

"Mugen's just…different. I don't expect you to understand him."

Kazu gave me a sympathetic look. He then reached out and put his hand over the one I had resting by my plate. "Fuu, did you ever think that maybe it would be better to just not see him anymore? He's obviously unstable."

The idea was silly. Never ever see Mugen again? I just couldn't even picture it. "No, I never thought about it. I can't…"  
I trailed off because of something Kazu was doing. He stood up in front of the whole crowd of diners and offered me a hand. I reluctantly took it, and he pulled me up.

"You may have to Fuu, because a married woman cannot go cavorting around with pirates and ronin."

"Married?" I babbled.

"That's right. Fuu, I'm asking you to marry me."

"Marry you?" I mirrored, thinking this was all some kind of joke. He looked dead-pan serious. Oh, lord. The whole place was staring at us now, anticipating my answer just as much as Kazu was. I wasn't sure what to do. Was I ready for that? Was he who I wanted to be with for the rest of my life? Was I really going to have to leave my past- Jin, Mugen, Tsuki- all behind? "I, uh…I-I'm not sure Kazu."

He looked a little crestfallen, but smiled. "That's okay, I understand. It's a big decision. I just want you to know though; I can give you everything you want and you'll never want anything you can't have. If you're with me, I'll treat you like you _deserve_ to be treated."

"And if I say yes, that means that I can't ever see my friends again?"

"What friends?" he scoffed. I was happy that everyone had gone back to their meals now, obviously uninterested with the scene. "They all left you Fuu. Don't you see? They were never really you're friends at all. Friends don't abandon friends, and they certainly don't treat them like Mugen treats you."

-----

I lay in bed and thought about dinner and the last things Kazu had said to me. I wanted to protest to what he was arguing, but I couldn't. Friends didn't do those things to each other, but my friends had done them to me. So did that mean they weren't my friends? No, they had their reasons for going away. Tsuki needed time to heal. Jin had to start his life. Wait, wasn't that what I'd be doing? Starting my own life? It had to happen sometime after all. Maybe this was it. Time to settle down and stop wasting my youth running around Japan being a wanted criminal with two men of questionable moral value.

But they were my men of questionable moral value, and it would hurt to let them go.

**-Jin-**

"Fuck, fuck fuck!" I heard an all-too-familiar voice growl coming toward the stand I was currently at. I had been looking at some items to put in the new house when I heard the gravelly griping of Mugen. I turned my head so fast I nearly cricked my neck. What was he doing in this part of town and where was Fuu?

"Mugen?" I asked as they ever-shabby pirate whirled past me. I could practically feel the rage seeping off him and lingering in the air. He skid to a stop and growled.

"This is all you're fuckin fault!"

He lunged at me and I, clearly not expecting this, could do nothing but catch his weight as it barreled down upon me. Once on the ground, I shoved him off and rolled away while simultaneously drawing my sword.

"I'll take it you're having some trouble with Fuu?" I asked when Mugen swung his own blade toward me, inches from my right shoulder.

"Fuck you!"

"Articulate as ever."

I ducked another assault aimed for my throat and thrusted forward to get him to back away.

"I had the proof! She didn't believe me."

"Though I sometimes find it trying to communicate with you in your own insane manner, I am finding it particularly hard to apply it to any knowledge I have. Perhaps you would be so kind as to inform me of what it is I did exactly _before_ trying to kill me?"


	30. Vol 30 Dubious Direction

(a/n: Maybe you all didn't know, but I posted the 29th volume in place of the challenge. So if you didn't know, now you do, and you should probably go read that before you read this one. When the war has took its part, When the world has dealt its cards, And if the hand is hard, Together we'll mend your heart. Sorry. By the by, I hate that song by Rihanna, but Vanilla Sky has kick ass version with a hilarious video. Anywho, enjoy.)

(P.S. ella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh!!! Wtf? I thought she was from Jamaica, not Canada. Oh duh, the whole purpose for this little aside. Champloo Pocky! Good job, you're the next winner with your suggestion of trust. I can hint that another one might come in later.)

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**Vol. 30 Dubious Direction**

­­**-Jin-**

"Now what are you going on about?" I questioned as Mugen re-sheathed his sword and stood up straight. He looked quite tense and I wasn't sure what he meant by it being my fault and that she didn't believe his proof.

"We were fine when you were here, but now that you knocked that chick up and drove Tsuki away we're all fucked up. You broke up the group! And now Fuu is in with this guy like she always is, and he's going to fuck her over."

I shrugged. "These things always turn bad, Mugen. They always end up not working out. What I find particularly unsettling is that you seem to _actually_ care. Emotion doesn't suit you."

"Shut the fuck up," he snapped. I could nearly see his hand twitch with the need to hit me. It stayed where it was however; Mugen must be desperate. "I think this kid is tryin to pull the big one over on her…ya know?"

I nodded. "I see. Well, what do you intend to do?"

Mugen made noncommittal noise. "How the fuck am I supposed to know? She's all pissed off at me and she won't believe me. I tried, but she wasn't havin it. What did you do to make her believe you; you two losers talked all the time."

I glared at him and carefully pulled my glasses up. "I just talked to her; forgive me for not being a crude, ignorant, vagabond like you. If you want her to believe you then you have to start treating her decently and maybe you should think about listening when she talks to her instead of cussing at her."

He groaned and ran a hand into his ferocious mess he called hair. "Yeah, yeah. I know."

It was unnerving to see him like this. I could honestly say that I didn't like it much. If I didn't know better, I would say…

"Mugen, what has changed between Fuu and yourself?" Just talking about _feelings_ with Mugen put a bad taste in my mouth. We were both not very good with anything emotive. "I mean to say, why is this man so much of a problem compared to all of the others?"

"I told you," he said bitterly. He was pouting like a child with his arms crossed over his chest. "He's got her. She is eating out of the guy's hand, and she won't listen to me about what a dick he is. Oh, and nothin's changed…I just am sick of all you dumb-asses fallin in love and bringing the shit parade into my life. Got it?"

I shrugged. "If you say so."

"Yeah I fuckin say so."

"Then what do you want from me?"

He glared up at me from an odd angle that looked more sinister than usual. He had dark ideas brewing, and I knew that I was going to regret asking that question. "Don't suppose you'd wanna help me with a little pest control?" An incredulous stare from me was all it took to break him from the hope that I'd participate. It was a stupid idea. "Fine. I'll try to talk to her again. This would be a lot fuckin easier if you would just do it, ya know?"

"I can't come back Mugen. I have other things that monopolize my time now. I am getting Shino out in two days and I don't have the time."

"I still think you're crazy for this shit." Mugen was smiling though, poking fun at me in his as-good-natured-as-it-gets way.

"Have you heard anything from Tsuki?" I suddenly asked. It was impulsive and I knew I shouldn't be concerned with that right now, but I couldn't help it.

Mugen put his palms up and shook his head. "Not since the night she left. She never came back. Guess you had her twisted up real bad."

I looked down the crowded street and back to the man who I sometimes called friend and sometimes called enemy. I didn't really have anything to say about that. Not that people expected me to say much of anything at all. "Tell Fuu I said hello."

"Will do, four eyes." Mugen turned and began his awkward yet careless striding away from me.

"Mugen," I said before I knew it. Again, it was an impulse I apparently couldn't ignore. This was getting annoying. I didn't think he'd hear me, because I didn't yell. But he did and he looked back over his shoulder. "Why don't you just tell Fuu?"

"Doesn't work that way man, not with me."

(a/n: I don't know if you all will get why this is a chapter about trust, but that's how I saw it. I had something to say….what was it?….damn…Oh, the new challenge is going to be a quote challenge. This is working in a progressive manner that I don't know if you all will get until the third is posted, but eventually it will make sense… I think. Sooooo, the Challenge is thus: **Send in a quote that you have written for a specific character, and I will build a volume around it. Please tell me the quote and who it's intended to be said by. I'm going to limit you all to one per person so that I can try to use them all. **So participate if you must and would like. I know I would. Sorry this chapter was short, but I'm really busy at the moment. Thank you all for reading!!!


	31. Vol 31 Paradigm Shift

(a/n: So it's been forever and a day since the last one and I get that it sucks. Blame everyone but me. Blame the school system, my friends, my bf, the traffic, the world. Anywho, I missed Fuu so this chapter is all about her and a certain vagrant. I love that guy. I love them together. I love the angst and whatnot. So this chapter is about normal sized but it's packed full o' goodness. The ending, if you've been paying attention was so foreshadowed that it's rediculous. Bravo if you saw it coming. It's going to be sooooo much fun to write the next one, and if you know me you know why. This is a really long note. I just noticed that. Hmm...)

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**Vol. 31 Paradigm Shift**

**-Fuu-**

I woke up with the oddest feeling that I was being watched. I rolled over and there was…

"Mugen?" I asked, wondering why he was looking at me so intensely.

"Fuu, I gotta talk to you again. I went to see Jin-"

"You saw Jin? When? Can I go too?" I sputtered.

He shook his head. "No, he said hi, but that's not the point." His hands were moving around as he talked, getting more and more exaggerated by the word. "I've been actin all wrong when it comes to this Kazu guy, but I just don't like 'im is all. I think he's tryin to play you. He's just makin it look all lovey-dovey, but when I was in the bath house, he did tell me that he was just tryin to get you into bed. Why would I lie Fuu?"

I sat there, reeling from the mile-a-minute speech that I had just got from Mugen. He looked sincere, which was weird. Last time he had just gotten angry with me. But I didn't want to believe him about Kazu, I really didn't'. He was perfect.

"Mugen…" I began slowly. "Are you absolutely serious? No joke? Because this is really important. Kazu asked me to marry him."

He jolted and it looked like all the wind got knocked out of him. The room was so still that if Jin were here, he'd think it was too quiet.

"Whadidya tell him?" he asked in a breathless mutter.

This was suddenly very hard. My chest hurt and it felt like my body was trying to collapse on itself. I looked down at the floor. My hands gripped the covers on my bed so tightly that my knuckles were turning white. "I told him that I wasn't sure."

Mugen's jaw set. I could see the muscles in his neck bulging a bit; they always did when he was mad. He turned his head toward the window. "Why don't you know? I mean, I thought this kid was the greatest thing in the fuckin world? You should just tell him yes."

"Huh?" I was so startled by his answer that I actually half-gasped the word. I swallowed. "You think I should tell him I'll marry him?"

Mugen's angular shoulders lifted and fell in a stiff shrug. "Why not? He's rich, gotta nice house, probably you wouldn't have to run around being wanted anymore. You said that you were getting to be an old maid anyway, now you can settle in and squeeze out a few pups."

"Yeah…" I said in as happy a voice I could manage. "So it's a good idea?"

"S'what I said."

Through all of the emotional mud, a thought came in. "Wait a minute here! Why are you saying that I should marry the guy when a minute ago you said that he was just trying to sleep with me?"

"I must've been wrong. The guy's goin to marry you after all, natural for you two to get nasty eventually, right?"

"I guess," I agreed, blushing at the thought of Kazu and I doing _that_. "Mugen, you think I'd make a good wife?"

He turned to look at me again. Finally I could see his eyes, they always told me what he was thinking, no matter what his mouth was blathering. They were troubled. "Yeah, you're gonna be great. Just do me a favor and don't ever come lookin for me if you need to find some guy named after a dumb ass flower, okay?"

"Mugen? What are you going to do, if I go?"

"Probably just go back to what I was doin before. That kind of life suits me. Don't like to be in one place too long."

"You don't think you'll ever get a house or have kids or a wife?" I asked, trying to think of Mugen doing any of these things. I really couldn't see it.

"No, but I might have a bunch of little hellions runnin around that I don't know about."

"Ha. Ha."

We sat in silence for a while after that. In all truth, I didn't really know how to feel. My brain and heart were sliding all over the place and I was as jumbled up as the most complicated knot. I glanced over at him about a hundred times, I knew he saw it too. He didn't say anything about it though like he normally would.

"So I'm gonna go out again, I'll see you later."

"Yeah."

Just like that Mugen was gone again. I smiled after him, and about two seconds later a crushing wave of sadness washed over me and it felt like my heart was tearing itself in half. I put a hand over my mouth to stifle the sob that was waiting to get out. I didn't want Mugen to hear. I wanted him to be far, far away when I started crying. I knew I promised that I wouldn't cry anymore, but this was something I couldn't deny. I felt like I had just lost Mugen for good.

Mugen all of the sudden came back in and I choked as I tried to swallow the frog in my throat. He gave me a funny look and then went to the area where he had his junk all spread out. He picked up a small bag that had a few coins.

"Too bad we didn't come here the same time we did last year. They had this really good fish that I liked, but only when it's in season. Missed it by a month and a half." I nodded and he headed for the door again. "See ya."

I couldn't believe that Mugen had just seen me on the edge of tears. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before, but this time it was different. This time it was because of him. Things were so much easier last year when all we had to worry about when were here was beetle wrestling and Jin's torrid love affair with Shino.

Out of nowhere a sudden bolt of realization hit me and I was nearly dumb-struck by it. Holy…

"MUGEN!"

I got up to find him and ran as fast as I could out the door. I turned the corner in the hall and ran full into Mugen. He half caught me and we toppled to the floor. He looked surprised and a little scared. I couldn't waste any time though.

"Mugen, you're a genius!" I exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"What you said about the fish!" He looked so confused, that I almost had to laugh. "It was in season when we were here last time eleven and a half months ago!"

"I don't get it."

I raised up off him a little and couldn't help but notice his hands holding firmly around my waist.

"Okay, how long does it take for a woman to have a baby?"

"What, like nine months?" I stared at him, egging him toward the conclusion. Five, four, three, two, one- click. "What the fuck?!"

"We've gotta tell Jin!" I tried to get up but Mugen was still holding on. "I meant now, idiot."

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a sec."

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(a/n: Woohoo! All done, for now. Who had it? Did you guess? That explicit b-word of a woman! How could she do it to our Jin? It's alright my friends, we shall have our revenge.)


	32. Vol 32 Partricidal Precedence

(a/n: Hey guys, sorry for the long pause, but now I'm throwing in a new chapter. I know a few of you were a tad confused by the last chapter, but this should clear up that murky water. It's not that long and I wrote it kind of fast. Forgive me if it's not edited all that fantastically...or at all...I will get to that as soon as I can manage.)

**Vol. 32 Patricidal Precedence**

**-Mugen-**

couldn't believe we all didn't see it before. You had to give it to the chick though, she sure knew how to play a guy. Jin was about to do some stupid-ass shit; I guess we were stopping that. I had to admit, when it came to smarts and shit, four eyes had the high ground, but he was apparently enough of a dumb-fuck not to see this.

I had a hold of Fuu's hand as we ran through the streets toward the area where I found Jin. I think he lived around there somewhere. If not, then we had to go straight to the lyin bitch herself.

"Mugen, where is this place?" Fuu panted, trying to keep up. I kept forgettin that she was slow.

"Round the block," I growled.

We tore around the street to where I saw Jin last time. He wasn't around. Fuck. Fuu was lookin for him too. Her face was all concerned, like it always was when one of us got into somethin big. She kinda did have to put up with a lot of shit in that department.

"I don't think he's around." She sounded like our last chance was gone.

"We gotta go to the place where Shino is then," I told her. Fuu went bug-eyed. She thought I was nuts. "If we can't find Jin then we just gotta tell Shino. It's the only way and she's the only one we know can't move around."

Fuu looked like she wasn't so sure I was right. "Mugen…"

I grabbed a hold of her shoulders and looked her square in the face. "You wanna save him or not?"

**-Jin-**

Shino packed the remaining possessions of her room quickly and quietly. It was our time to get out and move into the new home. Once this was over, she would never have to worry about a thing ever again. We could start our lives together. For the first time in a very long while, I felt like things were going to be okay. My fortune was changing, and as a result I was optimistic.

"Jin, did you see where I left my hair comb? I can't seem to remember where I misplaced it."

I pointed to the bedroll, one of the few things left to pack, remembering that she had tossed it aside last night while she was preparing for bed.

She picked up the pillow and there it was. She smiled and scooped it up. Carefully, she folded it up into a piece of cloth before placing in her bag.

"Are you happy?" I asked her suddenly. I had been sitting quite silently in the corner up until this moment, but I liked to know how she was feeling about all of this.

"Yes. I wouldn't be happy with anyone but you."

"And you know that I will always be faithful and honest with you. I won't be like your first husband, I promise that."

She gave me a strange look. What was it? I let it go as she packed her bedroll. That was the last of the things, and that meant it was time to go. She took a last survey of the room to be certain everything she would need was in its place. At last she turned to me.

"I think that will be everything."

I walked to her and took the bag of her possessions so she wouldn't have to carry them in her delicate state. We went out to the hallway where I took a quick look to see if there were any people moving about to catch us. Luckily enough, no one was. I beckoned Shino out after me and we made our way at a quick but silent pace. We made it out onto the grounds and were well on our way to the wall when I heard a familiar shrill-pitched voice meshing into conversation with a low and feral one.

"Where are we even going to find them? How do you even know they're here?" Fuu.

"I just know is all, got it?" replied Mugen. "Jin's gotta be here."

They came out from behind a row of bushes and halted immediately. Mugen rounded on Fuu.

"Whadid I tell you?"

Fuu rolled her eyes and stepped forward. She shot a venomous glare at Shino which I didn't fully understand to be honest.

"What do you two think you are doing here?" I demanded, still keeping my control intact. "You two know the concequences if we get caught sneaking her out. What is the meaning of this?"

Mugen and Fuu looked at each other nervously, meaning that something was definitely amiss. Finally it was Mugen who jumped into the point. he dropped his hand from his head where he had been scratching it. "Yo Shino, we get the game you're tryin to pull, so why don't you just fess up?"

I was utterly and completely confused. Game?

"I-I don't know what you…" she sputtered, looking more than just a but nervous. I know that she wasn't afraid of Mugen, so what was it?

"Give it up, chick. Tell 'im, or I will."

"There's nothing…"

Fuu let out an indignant sound and crossed her arms in a quite hostile manner. "Jin, it's not your child in Shino, it's someone else's."

"What?" I questioned, a little more than perturbed by the suggestion. Surely they were joking. Either that or they made a terrible mistake.

Fuu turned to me, this time with an expression of sympathy. "Jin, we were here over eleven months ago. Mugen was the one who figured it out. You know what that means, right?" Her tone was saturated with sorrow. I knew what it meant.

I turned to Shino who was looking positively petrified.

"You lied to me."

She nodded slowly. "I didn't want to hurt you, I just needed a safe place for my child."

"So whose child is it then?"

"One of the local police, he came here to do an inspection on the night of a break in; after that, he visited me in secret. I don't love him, he just reminded me so much of you. I thought you weren't ever coming back."

"What bullshit!" Mugen scoffed. His timing was impeccable. He could kill any sort of moment, bad or good. He strolled forward, a grin plastered all over his face. "You just wanted a free ride and you knew that Jin could probably make more money than some stupid officer. Personal body guards make tons more money, 'specially if they have a kill count like fish-face."

"Shino," Fuu began. "I liked you, I really did. Then you had to go and do this to Jin. You're a bad person, and I hope that that baby of yours gets more love and loyalty than what you've shown Jin. He risked everything for you, and you…you just stepped all over him."

Shino didn't respond to either of them; I'm not sure she heard them at all. She was staring at me, waiting for me to weigh in on what my course of action would be. I was truly conflicted, but her betrayal was unforgivable. If there was one thing that I upheld, it was truth and honor. Shino was neither honest or honorable.

"You made your choice, it seems, a long time ago," I said bluntly. "I cannot stand here and be made a fool of, though it pains me to say this. I'm going to say goodbye to you Shino, and this time it will be forever."

A few tears had already began their slow descent down her pale cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe them away. "I suppose I deserve this. I know I've hurt you, but I don't want you to go…please."

"I left other things…people, behind for you. I shouldn't have done that. Now I have bridges to mend, if it isn't already too late."

"Jin, who?"

"A girl who risked everything for me, like I did for you, and I left her for what I thought was the right thing. I can only hope she can forgive me the way I am unable to forgive you."

She was shaking visibly. I set her things down at her feet and stepped away. I was hurt by this entire situation, but I had no time to waste if I was going to find Tsukiko and make things alright.

"Goodbye Shino, and good luck with the rest of your life."

I turned and began my walk away from the woman I loved, or at least who I loved and thought loved me in return. I had no idea where I was going to find Tsukiko, it had been so long since she'd gone and we had no trails to follow. Mugen and Fuu caught up, flanking me on either side. For an instant, I was sure that we would find her, because when the three of us we working together, everything seemed to fall haphazardly into place.


	33. Vol 33 Vagrant's Volition

**Vol. 33 Vagrant's Volition**

**-Fuu-**

You had to give it to Jin, when he wanted to do something he put all of his efforts and energy toward the matter. The downside to all of that though, was that he was running himself into the ground. In two weeks I might've been able to count the hours he slept on just my hands. He looked more tired than I'd ever seen him, but it wasn't like I could exactly tell him to take a break.

We couldn't find a single trace of Tsuki, and we had really tried. Even Mugen had put in effort, and that was saying something. Nobody had seen her, nobody had heard of her, she was just gone…

"Tell me there's something to eat in this shit hole," Mugen griped as he and Jin came in from another day of scouring the city we had just gotten to the day before. Since they didn't look all that pleased, I took it as a sign that they hadn't gotten anywhere.

I shook my head. "Sorry Mugen, we don't have a thing left. No money either." Just like the good ol' days.

He scoffed and flopped onto his bedroll. He rubbed his stomach and grimaced. "I've barely had any food in three days. This is such bull."

Jin moved across the room and sat in the corner facing the room. "No one, not a person, has any information. Do you think it possible that Tsukiko went back home?"

I thought about it. "No, she said she broke her ties to her country, she said she wouldn't go back. I don't think that even with what happened that she would go back on that."

"So whadda we do now?" Mugen asked us. Jin and I looked at each other, neither of us having the faintest clue. When no one answered, he got the hint and sighed. "Shit, maybe she just doesn't really wanna be found, ya know? She could be avoiding towns and cities because she knows that's the first place we'd look. Maybe we should look in the country and places without a lot of eyes to see her wanderin around."

Jin gave him the closest thing I had ever seen as an appraising look to Mugen, which in itself was like the signal of the world ending. He never thought anything Mugen did was worth appraising. "It's not an entirely bad idea." And then just as quickly as the hope had some into his face, it was gone. "But searching all of the rural areas in Japan will take years. It would be like finding a single pebble thrown into the ocean. The possibility-"

"Damn the possibility and damn your negative attitude," I growled in frustration. "You want to find her, right? So who cares how long it takes if you really love her?!"

Jin and Mugen gawked at me like I had sprouted a second head and it was speaking backwards with a lisp.

Calmly, Jin answered. "Fuu, I understand that you think idealistically, but the sheer size of this country indicates-"

"That you are going to give up so easy?" I spat. "Look here Jin, you're the one who messed everything up, and you're the one who hurt Tsuki. You're going to get her back no matter what. You lost me a friend, and I don't like it when people mess with my friends. I don't care what we have to do to find her, but we are not _ever_ going to give up, understand?"

"Fuu, jeeze. Chill out," Mugen said with a chuckle in his words. "We'll find'er, kay? But you know that Jin's right, we ain't got a chance lookin for her the way we are. It means we gotta do somethin that we said we weren't ever gonna do again."

I arched a brow at him. "What's that?"

"Split up."

Jin and I said no at the same time. We couldn't.

"I can't condone that," Jin disagreed. "If we split up, we may not ever find one another again. Fuu wouldn't have our protection. We wouldn't have a way to contact each other again even if we did find her."

"I gotta plan fish-face, relax." Mugen sat up now and began explaining his apparently brilliant idea. "You go forward just in case Tsuiki kept heading down the road, and I'll go back the way we came to see if she didn't just settle down somewhere there. In a week, we meet back here whether we found her or not, and if one of us doesn't show up then the others come lookin cause we know something went wrong."

The plan was all well and good, aside from the splitting up thing, but there was one detail missing. Where was I in all of this? What role did I have?

"So where do I go?" I questioned.

"I might be going to some pretty rough places. I know how to get information in places like that. I think you should go with the four-eyed freak since it wouldn't be as safe for a girl like you in the places I'm plannin on bein in."

I didn't voice any more objections, even thought I still didn't like the idea. It was the best shot we had and I wasn't going to ruin it for Mugen. He was concerned, and that was something, so I'd do what he asked just this once.

"We should get some rest then; we'll leave in the morning," Jin added.

**-Mugen-**

At the crack of friggin dawn the next morning we were all outside the inn, getting ready to go and all that crap. We got to that awkward point where we all stand around tryin to say goodbye, but no one does so we just sit there until we get all twitchy and feel like idiots. I rubbed a hand along the back of my neck where the little hairs were all standing up. It was goddamned cold as hell out here, and I kinda wanted to get movin so I could at least warm up a little.

"Well, we should get goin. Burnin daylight and all," I started, tryin to get the ball rolling. "So…see ya in a week."

Jin nodded and started off up the road at a slow pace. Fuu gave me a sad look and grabbed her elbows. She always took this stuff so hard.

"Be careful Mugen, remember that me and Jin won't be there to save your skinny butt if it gets in trouble."

I gave her a smirk. "Never knew you were so attached to my butt, I'll be sure to tell it how you feel. You can even kiss it when I come back."

I was tryin to make this a little easy on her by givin her some confidence that everything would be okay, but Fuu was smarter than that. She flung her arms around me and hugged me tighter than she ever had before hurrying off after Jin. When they were all the way down the road and I couldn't see them anymore, I went back down the road we'd already been over. I had a few places in mind that I could check, and none of 'em were ones I was looking forward to. We made enemies back this way, and I was alone this time. No that I didn't like being alone, 'specially in a fight, but if they came at me all at once…Well there weren't no way I was gonna make it back next week, and that meant that Jin and Fuu would walk right into the same trap. Fuckin nightmare. I couldn't mess this one up.

**-Jin-**

"Fuu, you seem distracted," I pointed out. We had been traveling for only a few hours now and the whole time Fuu hadn't said a word. This was particularly disturbing since I was the one who was growing uncomfortable in the silence. I don't recall that ever happening before.

She sighed a long, drawn-out breath. "It's nothing."

"You're worried about Mugen," I supplied.

Her cheeks flushed and she looked intently down at her feet. "I always do. You guys kinda have a patter with this stuff. Now Mugen's alone and no one will be there if something goes bad."

I nodded sympathetically. We did cause Fuu a good deal of distress. "But this isn't just that, is it?"

"Not really…"

"You're afraid for Mugen even more than usual because you-"

She quite suddenly hit my arm. "Can we please not say what you're about to say?"

I once again nodded my head. "So how long has it been?"

Looking impatient, she sped her pace up. Her back to me, she grumbled her answer. "Too damn long."

--

(a/n: More soon, sorry for the space session. It's not edited, so sorry about that too. I thought I'd try again for you guys, so enjoy the present. It was on discount and I lost the receipt, so no returns…not even store credit.)


	34. Vol 34 Trials of a Triplicate

**Vol. 34 Trials of a Triplicate**

**-Mugen-**

So a day and a half later I still had shit to show for my time other than an even emptier stomach then when I'd started. I had to remember that I had to give myself enough time to get back to the meeting spot too, shoulda given it longer than a week maybe. Oh well, fuck if I can change it now.

I went into the hole in the wall whorehouse and took a look around. Nothin much to look at as far as the girls went. Probably just local girls hired in to pay off debts and who had nothin else as far as skills. Out of a small crowd of old dudes came this woman who reminded me of a dog; too much hair and she smelled kinda funny. Her pushed in nose wrinkled when she smiled at me.

"Welcome handsome sir, what may I do for you today?" she practically yelled across the room.

I couldn't help the unfriendly look on my face, the lady just bugged me. "You can cut the bullshit," I sneered. "I ain't interested in buyin."

Her smile went away real quick after that. "Then what do you want?"

"Damn lady, no need to get all bitchy." I smiled at her and she looked a little scared. Good. "I'm looking for a girl."

She was confused. She glanced around at her whores and then at me; she didn't get that I wasn't talkin about them. Fuckin idiot. "There are a lot of girls here, I don't know what you mean."

I spat on the floor and shook my head. "Naw, I mean a specific girl. She's got real long hair…black. Eyes that are wider than usual too, and they're blue. Seen anybody like that around?"

The old hag shook her head. "Can't say that I have."

I turned and left without so much as a goodbye. She was goddamned useless. Just when I got to the corner though, some punk teenage kid caught up with me. He couldn'ta been more than fifteen.

"Hey!" he yelled. "You!" I stopped and let him get in front of me so he could talk and say what he had to say. "I know that woman you were talking about. She was here."

My eyebrows rose and for a second I was pretty fuckin proud of myself. "So where is she?"

The kid was nervous. "See…I was back in a city south from here, where I live, and she came in and needed a place to stay. My mom took her in and let her stay a night. The nest day she offered me some money if I could get a package to some chick over in Kyoto. I stopped here to…well, you know."

I held out my hand to the kid. I know what chick you're talkin about. Fuu, right?" The kid nodded and brought the package out. "You leave it with me, got it? I'm going to see her in a few days."

The kid gave it to me without even hesitating a second. "Whatever, I already got paid. Plus, it's not like she can do anything to me if it doesn't get there."

Huh? The little shit was about to leave before I caught his shoulder. "Whaddya mean?"

He shrugged. "She got arrested. Crimes against the country or something like that. They're going to execute her soon."

Oh fuck.

**-Jin-**

This was the must frustrating and fruitless quest I had ever been on. I was getting more and more impatient by the second and there was nothing I could do to fix it. If given the chance, I wouldn't take my choices back, for they showed my will toward honor and responsibility. When I thought about Tsukiko though, it made me want to amend my decision.

"Jin, we have to go back," Fuu near-pleaded with me. She knew I was disappointed that we hadn't found anything, but we had a schedule to keep. Mugen would be waiting and if we weren't there he might actually come to save us. He would be infuriated if we were not actually in any type of peril. He would say that he was cheated out of a decent fight.

I looked down at my petite traveling companion. "Alright Fuu, we can start heading back now. I know we aren't having much luck in this area."

She smiled at me sympathetically. "Maybe Mugen found something."

I nodded and we turned to head back toward the meeting spot to touch base with him. I hoped he had more luck than we did. Any clue would be better than what we came up with. Perhaps his knowledge and ability to blend into the seedier part of humanity might have given him an edge on us.

"How much trouble do you think he's gotten into over the last three and a half days without us there to keep him underfoot?" I asked Fuu teasingly.

She put her hands on her hips. "Probably more than a lot, but I'd like to not think about it, thank you."

"Police, yakuza, smugglers, robbers…" I counted each on my fingers. "The possibilities are innumerable."

"Oh _ha, ha_," Fuu mocked. "Now that we've acknowledged that…thing that we're not going to talk about you think you can tease me. I _so_ did not see this coming." Her voice was so sarcastic it was like Mugen was speaking from inside her. How eerie. I made it a point to see which other mannerisms of Mugen's that she had picked up.

**-Fuu-**

He lied. He promised and he broke it. He wasn't there.

Mugen hadn't shown up at the meeting point the day we got there. We were on time and waited around for that idiot all day. I waited until the sun went down and long after. Jin came out to tell me to go to bed even. I told him I was going to wait because I was sure he was going to get here soon and I was going to kick him square in the skinny ass. He went to bed after that, no doubt feeling bad for me.

Mugen, that idiot. What did he get himself into? I knew that Jin and I had joked about it…but why did he have to go and actually do it? Now I was worried. I didn't know where he was and he was making me worried. I'd make sure and knock him a good one as soon as I made sure he was okay.

I was awakened by a gentle hand prodding my shoulder ever so slightly. I started even though I knew who it was. Jin. I fell asleep in front of the inn. I watched the road all night until I saw the sky start to lighten by the horizon. I think I fell asleep right after that.

"Is he back?" I asked with a yawn. I was pretty sure of the answer, but I thought I could give it a try. Jin shook his head. "What a jerk."

"Fuu, perhaps we should get on the road and start searching. The earlier we start, the less of a distance there will be between us. Mugen could still be traveling in the opposite direction. We'd need to leave now to have any hope of catching up."

I looked down at his feet and noticed that he already had both of our things placed and ready to go. Maybe he was worried too, and now I was here making him worry even more about me. I felt bad about it.

I got to my feet and stretched my arms over my head. "Yeah, I think you're right. So let's get going."

Jin gave me an evaluating look. "You're being very brave you know."

I smiled wryly back. "Funny, because I feel really scared."

--

(a/n: Ugh...I'm trying to find more writing time, but things keep going to hell. Sorry bout that. Okay, aside from that though...Um, more excitement in the next chapter; including thre return of Tsukiko, everyone getting reunited, and some violence. I predict it'll be a week or so till I have it out.)


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